Browse: Love Letters to Bookshops Around the World
Henry HitchingsA cabinet of curiosities, a time machine, a treasure trove - we love bookshops because they possess a unique kind of magic. In Browse Henry Hitchings asks fifteen writers from around the world to consider the bookshops that have shaped them; each conjures a specific time & place.
Ali Smith chronicles the secrets & personal stories hidden within the pages of secondhand books; Alaa Al Aswany tells of the Cairo bookshop where revolutionaries gathered during the 2011 uprisings; Elif Shafak evokes the bookstores of Istanbul, their chaos & diversity, their aromas of tobacco & coffee. Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor recalls the quandary of choosing just one book at a favourite childhood store in Nairobi, while Iain Sinclair shares his grief on witnessing a beloved old haunt close down. Others explore bookshops they have stumbled upon, adored & become addicted to, from Delhi to Bogotá.
These inquisitive, enchanting pieces are a collective celebration of bookshops - for anyone who has ever fallen under their spell.
Henry Hitchings is an award- winning writer, reviewer & critic. He has written for the Guardian, TLS, Financial Times & Wall Street Journal, & is currently the Evening Standard's theatre critic. He is the author of several acclaimed books on language, literature & culture, including Dr. Johnson's Dictionary & The Language Wars. In 2008, his book The Secret Life of Words won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize & the Somerset Maugham Award, & in 2009 he was shortlisted for the title of Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year.