I don’t care about what a book looks like on a shelf. I have never cared about the aesthetics of being a reader – books simpering on their pedestals, waiting to pose against a gravel backdrop and gain a million likes.
Publishing is competitive, ruthless and inherently flawed. At the same time, rather frustratingly, there is no clear solution. But one thing is clear: although celebrities are convenient scapegoats, it’s not their fault.
From an outsider’s perspective, Paris is a city of culture, romance, and art. You value the atmosphere as you stroll through the streets and think of all the great artists who have walked before you. It is no surprise then, that “the bookshop” is one of the most popular tourist destinations.
Offering over 44 million titles, the world’s biggest bookseller seems like the most trustworthy source to get a recommendation. With so much to choose from, you would think our reading preferences would expand with each Amazon order. But we often find ourselves browsing the same section of the virtual bookshelf.
I Love Dick is a manifesto for a generation of women who want to have it all, say it all, and be it all. Its journey from an underground, experimental novel to a cult classic shows far how ideas about women and femininity have evolved in that time.
There is a handful of English bookshops in Paris, for those who know where to find them. Yet none of them are as famous as the one standing in the shadows of Notre-Dame, the one with yellow and green lettering. The one known as Shakespeare and Company.
by Elżbieta Piepiórka Value is relative. To some, Jane Austen is a genius. Others can’t comprehend why she was published. Sentimental, literary, academic values – these vary depending on our individual experiences and […]
By Oliver James The history of book ownership is well-documented. Our love of books as objects has existed for centuries. Out of such love are born the terms, ‘bibliomania’ and ‘tsundoku.’ The […]
by Flora Dempsey It is no secret that Amazon has toppled the reign of the bookshop. Amazon can offer you the same copy of Michelle Obama’s best-selling Becoming you might buy in […]
by Elżbieta Piepiórka Welcome to the second segment of my three-part series on the inner workings of a second-hand bookshop. Disclaimer: this one is a cynical breather, sandwiched between two slightly more profound […]
thestray.org 