Category: books
Peeking into Librairie du Globe – a Russian bookstore in Paris – Part 1
While wandering down Boulevard Beaumarchais on Le Marais side in Paris, we came across a small bookstore with a dim, inviting glow inside. It wasn’t part of any chain but clearly an independent shop with its own character and carefully chosen shelves. This is Librarire du Globe, a destination for anyone in Paris with an…
Zhongshuge 钟书阁 – A Surreal Literary Labyrinth in Beijing 北京
Zhongshuge 钟书阁 has a reputation across China for having “the most beautiful bookstores,” and their location inside Beijing’s Galeries Lafayette department store (北京老佛爷百货商店, 100 Xidan North St.) certainly lives up to the title. While many modern bookstores these days opt for boxy minimalist cubes, Zhongshuge leans into the surreal. The journey begins at the main…
Getting Lost in Skoob, London’s Basement Book Maze
Hunting for the best second-hand bookshop in London? Skoob Books in Bloomsbury—tucked beneath the Brunswick Centre near Russell Square—offers one of the city’s broadest selections of used and out-of-print titles. Enjoy a tune while browsing. Bloomsbury has long been London’s intellectual heartland—home to the University of London’s central precinct (Senate House). Surrounded by University College…
Recently Read: Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a pandemic-era, body-horror ghost story that uses New York’s Chinatown as its backdrop. It blends crime-scene gore with Chinese funerary lore (Hungry Ghost Festival) to indict xenophobia and political apathy. I picked up the book out of curiosity; Zeng is a familiar surname. It’s the first…