Inspiring Older Readers

posted on 13 Nov 2016

Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores by Bob Eckstein

It always seems to me that American bibliophiles lead the way in celebrating and mythologising their bookshops. There is an almost constant trickle of books that extol the virtues of their bookshops, their booksellers and their authors and it’s a steady flow which easily outstrips anything coming from these shores.

They are also immensely creative about how they put these books together and this one from Bob Eckstein is particularly original in its approach. Eckstein has made his reputation as a writer and illustrator working for The New Yorker and The New York Times and he has used all his design skills here.

The format is that of a postcard collection, presented in landscape format with a hard car cover that hinges upwards, with each card consisting of an original watercolour by Eckstein. Every picture has a brief description of the shop and its location and then it is inscribed with a reflection or memory from authors, book buyers, booksellers and book lovers.

The collection does indeed embrace a range of international bookshops –  examples from India, Britain, Japan and others are included -  but by far the majority represented here are from the USA. I think that’s probably inevitable given the way Eckstein personally chose the shops to be included – a list that was compiled from personal experience and word of mouth recommendations.

This is a beautiful book to graze over and the general tone of laid-back literary fun is enhanced by the foreword written by Garrison Keillor, himself the owner of a small independent bookstore.

I thought I’d tell you a bit more about which of the 75 ‘postcards’ are my favourites but I found myself marking almost every page as a possible one to talk about and in the end I just gave up – I love them all!

The book was published this year by Clarkson Potter in the USA and can be found easily enough to order online but I have yet to see copies being kept in bookshops – that seems to be a crazy oversight.

 

Terry Potter

November 2016