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]]>Fabulosa Books (previously Dog Eared Books Castro)
489 Castro St, San Francisco, CA 94114
Located in the colorful Castro district, Fabulosa Books specializes in LGBTQ+ literature, as well as plenty of mainstream titles. This welcoming neighborhood bookstore sells new and used books and is the perfect place for a lengthy browse.
Omnivore Books
3885A Cesar Chavez St. San Francisco, CA 94131
Calling all foodies, this one’s for you! Omnivore Books is the Bay Area’s first and only culinary bookstore. The shelves host new and used recipe books of every imaginable cuisine, as well as all kinds of great writing on food and drink. If you’re looking to expand your gastronomic knowledge, head to Omnivore Books. Be warned – you’ll leave hungry!
Green Apple Books
506 Clement St, San Francisco, CA, 94118
Around since 1967, Green Apple Books is a much-loved institution in the Richmond neighborhood. This literary treasure trove is filled with inviting nooks and crannies, helpful staff recommendations, and over 100,000 titles to browse.
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]]>You Can Soak in Local Culture
If part of the reason you travel is to get a sense of local cultures around the world, a bookstore is a great place to do it. Here, you can people watch, hear the local language, and maybe even catch an event.
It’s a Great Place to Buy a Souvenir
If you ask us, there is no better souvenir than a book from a local bookstore. Most bookstores sell at least some books in English, often translations of local books, so you can use this as yet another way to understand the local culture better. Plus, you’re supporting a local, small business, and you get something with an actual purpose instead of some trinket that will end up in the back of a drawer. And it gives you something to do on the flight home!
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]]>The post Top 3 Spots That Every Bookworm Has to See in Los Angeles appeared first on Traveler Dreams.
]]>The Last Bookstore
LA’s top spot for book lovers, The Last Bookstore is one of the most picture-perfect spots in the whole city. Since opening its doors in 2005, it became a true sensation thanks to its Instagram-friendly book displays that you can’t find anywhere else in the world.
Los Angeles Central Library
Even if you’re not looking for any books to take home as souvenirs, LA’s central library deserves a spot on your travel itinerary. In addition to being filled with thousands of books, this building is a true wonder of architecture, and its rotunda ceiling and Zodiac chandelier are a sight to behold.
Book Soup
Book Soup didn’t need splashy book displays and marvelous architecture to become one of LA’s leading bookstores. It will draw you in with a great selection of books and events with famous authors that it frequently hosts.
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]]>Libreria Acqua Alta is a unique bookstore that found the best way to preserve books from water. The city of Venice has been battling floods for the past fifty years, and there’s still no way to prevent them from happening in the future. Since books are very fragile, this bookstore had to think outside of the box and find new ways to keep them safe. Their solution was to stack the books, magazines, maps, and other things they’re selling vertically—and for further protection, they are stored in waterproof bins, bathtubs, and even one gondola.
The bookstore’s vibe is fun and relaxed. We love their sense of humor, too—there’s one door marked “fire escape,” which leads straight into a canal. Several stray cats are hanging out there all the time. By now, you probably agree with us—this is the place you shouldn’t miss when in Venice!
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]]>The post Porto’s Livraria Lello is Straight Out of a Harry Potter Movie appeared first on Traveler Dreams.
]]>Often described as one of the world’s most beautiful bookstores, Livraria Lello is located in the very heart of Porto, just a short walk from Igreja do Carmo. It opened its doors in 1881, and it’s one of the oldest bookstores in Portugal operating today.
Livraria Lello’s neo-Gothic interior features a curvaceous staircase, carved wood paneling, and breathtaking stained glass windows and ceiling. It’s been rumored that this bookstore served as inspiration for Hogwarts and the Flourish and Blotts bookshop in the Harry Potter novels, but J. K. Rowling never confirmed this.
That didn’t stop Livraria Lello from fully embracing the Harry Potter connection and becoming a popular destination with fans of this book series. If you ever find yourself in Porto, you can visit this bookstore every day from 10 am to 8 pm. Just get ready for long lines, and make sure to buy a 5€ voucher online, which is fully deductible when you purchase a book during your visit.
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]]>The post Cafebrería El Péndulo is Mexico City’s Best Bookstore Chain appeared first on Traveler Dreams.
]]>In addition to being a bookstore, Cafebrería El Péndulo is also a coffee shop, a restaurant, and a popular spot for live concerts, book nights, and literary courses. Its interior is decorated with dozens of plants, transforming this bookstore into a cozy green oasis.
Over the course of the past 25 years, Cafebrería El Péndulo established itself as one of the most important centers of cultural life in Mexico City. The Polanco location on Alejandro Dumas Street is the most popular with tourists, but it’s no longer the only one.
(@katrinathi)Cafebrería El Péndulo currently has seven branches, spanning the entire city. They’re all unique in their own right, but still instantly recognizable, thanks to a great selection of books, open and bright architecture, and living plants that are the essential part of their interior.
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]]>The design was inspired by the rich cultural heritage of Yangzhou, which used to be a place where many ancient writers and poets gathered in the past.
The plain glass exterior of the building hides the sleek interior made of black, mirrored ceilings and floors, which create an illusion of entering a never-ending tunnel made of books.
The bookstore is divided into four different areas, each inviting visitors to get lost amongst the thousands of books on display. The pure white “reader’s forest” zone leads into a corridor with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves extending endlessly to the side. There is also a peaceful reading room with benches to relax on, a theatrical readers’ hall, and a playground-inspired children’s area. On the 4th floor, there is a leisure area, where visitors can enjoy a good cup of coffee or tea.
The most intriguing aspect of the space is the double-height hall featuring zig-zagging sets of stairs that lead up and across tall bookshelves that line the walls. The stairs double up as seats, where visitors are encouraged to rest and read as long as they wish to.
Zhongshuge bookstore is a great place to not only read books but also take the time to think and interact with other visitors. The mirroring surfaces and ceilings dramatically expand the view, creating a sense of infinity, which further emphasizes the importance of reading. It is a creative space where you can browse for a new favorite story or simply spend hours enjoying the peaceful ambiance that will spark your imagination.
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