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This is one of the Best Bookstores in the World
Torontoist was walking past This Ain’t The Rosedale Library (obviously not pictured here) and noticed that it had been tapped by Canadian ex-pat Jeremy Mercer in the Guardian (the best paper in the English speaking world, sorry NYT) as one of the top 10 bookstores in the world. TATRL clocked in at eighth place and had some truly mindboggling competition.
Shakespeare and Co. in Paris (no. 2 on the list) is a “a socialist utopia masquerading as a bookstore.” Judging by the balance sheets on many independent bookstores, Torontoist asks what the difference between the two, really? Just above This Ain’t the Rosedale Library on the list is San Francisco’s legendary book store City Lights. The epicentre of the beat movement and a fixture in that city’s lit scene since the 1950s.
The list is topped by an absolutely idyllic sounding bookstore in Greece called Atlantis Books (pictured). “It’s run by an international collective of artists, writers and activists. As well as organizing theatre and open-air cinema, they set up programs such as the ‘book donkey’, which brings books to the local schools.” They also have an adorable cat. Torontoist is booking his plane tickets right now. And also wonders, where can he get his own book donkey!
