World's Coolest Bookstores
These spectacular bookstores encourage readers to put aside technology and enjoy the pleasures of a book in hand.
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Selexyz Bookstore
The Selexyz Dominicanen bookstore is housed in a 700-year-old former Catholic church in the Netherlands city of Maastricht. Badly neglected for much of the past 200 years, the 13th century church was transformed into a bookstore by Amsterdam-based architects Merkx Girod. It now houses a three-storey bookshelf complete with staircases, elevators and walkways. Glancing up, restored frescoes adorn the vaulted ceilings while a cross-shaped table forms a less-than-subtle centrepiece in the choir cafe.
9 ¾ Bookstore Cafe
Libreria El Ateneo (Grand Splendid)
The building was designed by the architects Pero and Torres Armengol for the empresario Max Glucksmann (1875-1946), and opened as a theatre called Teatro Gran Splendid in May 1919. The ecleticist building features ceiling frescoes painted by the Italian artist Nazareno Orlandi and caryatids sculpted by Troiano Troiani. With each incarnation since its inception in 1919 -- first as a performing arts theater, then as a cinema, and now a bookstore -- the Grand Splendid has proven itself befitting of its majestic title.
Waanders In de Broeren
The modern-day bookstore is housed in a gorgeous 15th century Dominican church. Utrecht-based BK. Architecten designed a 700-square-meter shopping area on three added floors that can be removed in the future without damaging the existing building. Natural light enters the interior and provide customers with a clear view of the entire area through modern stained glass windows, designed by Norwegian artist Kjell Nupen.
The Last Bookstore
The Last Bookstore is California's largest used and new book and record store. It began in 2005 in a downtown Los Angeles loft. The name was chosen with irony, but seems more appropriate with each passing day as physical bookstores die out like dinosaurs from the meteoric impact of Amazon and e-books.
Livraria Lello & Irmao
Livraria Lello & Irmao is one of the oldest bookstores in Portugal. The store has an excellent neo-gothic facade, where you can see two figures painted by Jose Bielman, representing the Science and the Art. This facade is only surpassed by its stunning interior, designed by Xavier Esteves. The building was inaugurated on January 13th, 1906, in an important social event for both Portuguese and Brazilian societies, attended by famous people from different spheres.