Cafebreria El Pendulo, Polanco Location, Mexico City
Some of the world’s most memorable bookstores succeed in creating an incredibly unique setting for browsing readers by making themselves a visual extension of the local culture. The Polanco location of El Pendulo in Mexico City is one of those bookstores, with an airy space that feels like an outdoor courtyard full of thriving plants.
9 3/4 Bookstore and Cafe, Bogota, Colombia
Explore a series of themed rooms and climb up into hexagonal reading nooks at Colombia’s 9 3/4 bookstore, a space that feels as comfortable as a living room and as fun as a playground all at once. Small hiding spaces for kids are tucked throughout the store.
The Last Bookstore, Los Angeles
Inside an old bank building in Los Angeles, you’ll find a fun independent bookstore brimming with reading choices as well as a record shop, coffee bar and ‘Labyrinth’ mezzanine level full of one-dollar bargains.
Shakespeare & Company, Paris
Paris’ famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore on the Left Bank has hosted such writers as Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and F. Scott Fitzgerald in its original location that closed during the German occupation in 1940, and Allen Ginsberg, Anais Nin and William S. Burroughs in the new one that opened in 1951. A constant focal point of literary culture in bohemian Paris, the bookstore has sleeping facilities with thirteen beds, allowing young writers to live and work there.
