What is a hometown without a bookstore? Books are the greatest refuge a writer can have, and bookshops are their home, never to be replaced by Amazon, AbeBooks, and their like. So many great ones closed, like Gotham, Colosseum, Academy, and Skyline, all in New York. But many remain. Here are some that have made my life so much better:
- Ten Best Bookstores in New York, a terrific blog post hawking the best bookshops that NYC has to offer.
- Strand is the ultimate bookstore for bibliophiles with much more to offer than the 18 miles of books it claims.
- Montclair Book Center, a perfect place to visit if you're in that neck of the woods.
- Cranbury Bookworm, a struggling but noble site for book collectors.
- Labyrinth Books in Princeton, NJ.
- Northshire in Manchester, Vermont, a gifted bookseller in a blessed location.
- Traveler Restaurant, which is a great stop for eating and reading on US 84 in Connecticut on the Massachusetts-bound side.
- City Lights, in San Francisco is American literary history--a must-see in your lifetime.
- My list of Oakland bookstores, because Oakland is a much cooler town than it gets credit for.
- The Book Den is a literary oasis in Santa Barbara, California.
- Foyles, if you happen to be in London.
- Aquilina Books, my favorite bookshop in Malta.
- Agenda, also on Republic Street in Valletta, Malta, a few doors down from Aquilina.
