Alice Munro didn’t just write books. She used to sell them, too.

Munro Books now is a landmark bookstore in Victoria BC, housed in a neo-classical building that was designed for the Royal Bank of Canada in 1909 by Thomas Hooper, the architect of many of B.C.'s finest commercial and public buildings. The striking, 24 ft. ceiling closely resembles the ceiling of the porch of the great library of Ephesus built by the Romans in the 2nd century A.D.

The walls are draped with eight large fabric banners by Carole Sabiston, depicting The Four Seasons. These were added to a collection of her other fabric works inspired by ten classic works of literature. This artwork alone draws many visitors to the store. But it’s the well balanced collection of books and book related products that helps the store thrive in this day and age.

Dominican Bookstore, Maastricht, Netherlands

In the city of Maastricht in southern Netherlands, there is a 13th-century Dominican Church. Not only because of it's special history (the building has had many functions), but also because of the ceiling and wall paintings which are of exceptionally great historical value.

In the year 1261 the Dominicans obtained permission to found a monastery in Maastricht. After the French army captured Maastricht in 1795 it was annexed to the French Republic. This put an end to the history of the religious building. Later the church was used by the French cavalry as a stable for horses.

In the two centuries that followed the building served many different functions: as a depot, concert hall, slaughterhouse, boxing temple, even a bicycle storage. By 2006 the Dominican Church became bookstore with ca. 25.000 titles and ca. 50.000 books on its shelves, the vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows now look down happily on a book browsing audience.

40 years ago Vancouver Kidsbook started as a small bookshop in Kitsilano. Today that store has grown to a huge, block long store full of top quality children’s books, games and books for parents and educators, along with a second location in North Vancouver. The thing that sets Kidsbook aside from chain stores is that they know and love their books - staff are well read and knowledgable about books, genres and authors.

The next best thing to a book store, is a library.

I’ve visited the New York City Public Library with its famous lions in front, the Lahore Library with its imposing white pillars and marble floors, and many others. Perhaps the nicest one of all was the National Library’s Prunksaal in Vienna, Austria. This mindblowing ‘cathedral of books’ feels more like a church than a library but was indeed built as a library several hundred years ago and hosts more than 200,000 leather bound books. For a booklover this is paradise - to be surrounded by floor to ceiling gorgeous books in a place where books are revered… I felt very privileged to walk around, to see and sniff books in this historic building.

Salt Spring Island, where I live, has an amazing library build of local cedar and decorated with book art created by local artists. There are more than a hundred published authors on the island and, once a year, the library hosts a Tea for these local writers. And while the library has a paid director, it is over 100 volunteers who run the library’s daily operations. During Covid, they even hand delivered books to patrons’ homes.

While traveling, I love being able to download books on LIBBY from my own local library. However, you can also stumble across an Airport Library. Holland’s Schiphol Airport was the first in the world to offer a sitting area with books: a collection of approximately 1,250 books focused on Dutch art and culture, including Dutch fiction translated into over thirty languages, photo albums, shows and videos of local culture, as well as music from Dutch musicians. In the first three years since its opening, the library had been visited by over 1 million passengers, mostly those on intercontinental flights.

Helsinki Airport has a Book Swap Point near Gate 31, while Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport was the pioneer of a digital library. The “world’s first in-transit e-library” opened in 2011, offering 400 e-book titles for passengers in the waiting hall.

Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport became the first in the US to offer free e-book downloads. The airport’s virtual library uses QR codes displayed on screens in the baggage claim areas, and when scanned, they allow access to an e-library of over 15,000 titles.

In Holland, trains are the main form of public transit and we came across advertisements for books and book week plastered on the trains. Trains here not only have “no smoking”, they also offer “no talking” - or silent - compartments so that you can enjoy your book in peace and quiet.

Running through London’s Heathrow Airport once, I was impressed to spot a book vending machine. Such a machine can also be found at a Romanian train station and at other airports. A novel idea indeed!

Jorge Luis Borges said “I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of Library.” The Gladstone Library in Wales is the UK’s only residential library and probably comes close to being paradise. Here, you can dream among 150,000 books! Built in 1898, the stone fortress looks more like a castle than a library but the Foundation that runs the Library tirelessly promotes literacy. They offer writer-in-residencies but most of all they host guests wanting to sleep in a monumental library. You can enjoy breakfast and tea among the books and sleep… well, like a log (book).

You can also sleep among books in author themed rooms at the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport, Oregon. Built directly on the beach but still in town, this marvellous historic clapboard building exudes charm and character.

The hotel was named for Sylvia Beach, expatriate American bookseller and publisher who opened Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris in 1919. Originally built in 1912 as the New Cliff House hotel, it was renovated in the 1980s to become a 21-room literary-themed bed and breakfast with eclectic charm that attracts readers, writers, and travellers from all over the world. The hotel is listed as a National Historic Place. Each room includes details and books that reflect the life and writings of 21 different authors. They range in price from ‘Bestsellers’ to ‘Classics’ to ‘Novels’. You can sleep (or stay awake) in the Agatha Christie room, Steinbeck, Hemingway, Jane Austen… even Dr. Seuss is there.

There’s also a third-floor oceanfront library. And the restaurant, cleverly called the Tables of Content Restaurant, offer breakfast that is included in the overnight stay.

Amsterdam has a Hotel Library, across from the Central Library with many bookshelves of it own. New York has the Library Hotel with lots of books and book related art and nicknacks.

So sleep well, and don’t forget to take a book to bed!

Resources:

https://www.onb.ac.at/museen/prunksaal/

https://hotellibrary.nl/

https://libraryhotel.com/

BOOKS:

Bachelor Brother's Bed & Breakfast by Bill Richardson