There's a particular kind of calm that only exists in bookshops. Voices drop. Time stretches. You pick up a book, read a page, put it back, pick up another. Nobody hurries you. An hour disappears.
Paris is full of bookshops, from tiny specialists to grand old houses. Here are five where slow browsing feels like a ritual.
1. Shakespeare and Company (5th)
Across the Seine from Notre-Dame, the famous English-language bookshop, opened in its current location by George Whitman in 1951 and named in homage to Sylvia Beach's original shop of the 1920s. Narrow rooms, crooked shelves, a piano upstairs, and corners where people sit and read. Go early or late in the day to avoid the queues.
2. Galignani (1st)
On rue de Rivoli, under the arcades facing the Tuileries, Galignani traces its history back to a bookshop founded by the Galignani family in Paris in the early nineteenth century. Wood paneling, tall shelves, and beautiful art and design books.
3. Librairie Delamain (1st)
Under the arcades of the Palais-Royal, Delamain is often described as one of the oldest bookshops in Paris. Rare editions, literature, and a perfect setting: browse, then walk in Colette's garden.
4. The bouquinistes along the Seine
Not a shop, but a tradition centuries old: green boxes along the parapets of the river, filled with second-hand books, old prints, postcards and magazines. Browse a few stalls slowly, with the river below you.
5. Your neighborhood bookshop
The best bookshop for slow browsing might be the small one on your street. Get to know the booksellers. Ask for a recommendation. Independent bookshops are where some of the most surprising discoveries happen.
How to browse slowly
1. Leave your list at home. Let yourself be surprised. 2. Read first lines. Open five books and read only the first sentence of each. 3. Touch the paper. Covers, textures, the weight of a book in your hands. 4. Sit, if there's a corner. Read a few pages before deciding. 5. Buy one, or none. Browsing is a pleasure in itself.
Recommendations, every month
The Digital subscription includes book recommendations alongside opera, ballet, music and places, with at least one video each month, photo stories and the digital edition of "(meditating) On Art". Like a bookseller who knows you well.
Remember to take as much time as you need, and meet me at the next one.
Love, Evi