The Most Beautiful #Book Places in the World ~ 1000 #Libraries #TuesdayBookBlog

I was intrigued when I was contacted about reviewing this book, which was created and written by Vincent Phan. Chock full of the most beautiful images, which unfortunately I can’t share due to copyright licenses, the book takes the reader on a journey round the world to book stores and the biggest and most extraordinary libraries, from North Western Europe to the Middle East, taking in Southern and Eastern Europe,  North and South America and Japan. Too many to cover them all so I’ve just selected a few to whet your appetite.

I was very surprised to learn how many beautiful library buildings there are in Paris, including the Mazarine, which was established in 1643 and became the first public library in France and now has over 600,000 volumes. Aside from the six imposing and ornate buildings housing the other Parisian libraries, there is the Merci Book Café which sounds delightful, a place where several pleasant hours could be spent.

A floating book store in London, looking very pretty decked out with bookshelves and plants, really appealed to me. Word on The Water is housed in a 1920’s Dutch barge, anchored on Regent’s Canal and has a rooftop stage where live music and poetry readings are hosted. Inside the barge shelves hold collections of contemporary novels, classics and rarer books.

Hay-on-Wye is well known as a bookish town, full of individual book shops. One in particular, Murder and Mayhem, obviously dedicated to crime fiction is one I’m hoping to visit in the very near future.

Livraria in Portugal, with its amazing intricately carved, winding staircase is a sight to behold, with many architectural details – including ornate wooden carvings and gothic arches.

The Joanina Library, also in Portugal, was commissioned by King Joao V and completed in 1728 and is another opulent building with gilded carvings, frescoes and painted ceilings and tiles. It also houses a colony of bats!

The journey carries on into Italy, to the Acqua Alta Bookstore in Venice where the books are stacked in waterproof containers, bathtubs and a full sized gondola…just in case the waters of the canal rise. There’s a book bazaar in Instanbul, a book town in Tokyo with approximately 200 book stores and a boutique book hotel in Matsumoto in Japan. There are so many more as I mentioned initially. This beautifully created book is the perfect coffee table book for the bibliophile and anyone interested in incredible, visually beautiful, impressive and quirky places that house books.

My thanks to Vincent Phan for a digital copy of the book for review. You can see more and a short video on Vincent’s website.