The Ludic Reader

For anyone who loves an afternoon in a bookstore, One Book on the Shelf, has a terrific project on the go. She intends on visiting every bookstore in London. Follow her progress here.

I actually had one of my most perfect bookstore experiences ever while living in Birmingham, England. I was teaching high school in the Midlands, and my department head gave me 200 pounds to buy books. He sent me with our school’s librarian to  Peter’s Books  for an entire morning. As if that wasn’t enough – while I was perusing the hundreds and hundreds of books on offer, a woman came up and asked me if I would like a cup of tea. Um. Yes, please. Five minutes later, I was holding a massive mug of steaming hot tea *and* poring over the titles. Bliss.

Speaking of wonderful bookstores, I have always been a huge fan of The Strand in NYC. Sadly when my kids and I visited New York in the summer, I was only allowed a quick walk through – not because my kids are anti-books, thankfully they’re both voracious readers- because as my daughter put it “Mom, you have too many books and we don’t have any room in our luggage for more!”

I’d love to hear about your favourite bookstore experiences.