One reason why Paris is a foretaste of heaven is the abundance of bookstores. These are often easy to miss if one does not make the conscious decision to take note.
Of late, thanks in large part to thesis-related reading, a whole new world of bookstores with work on Paris as a city, its architecture, urban planning, public spaces and history is becoming more apparent to my hitherto blinded eyes; Among my favourite places to find such work is ‘librarie le moniteur’ at 7, place de l’Odeon’. There is quite a treasure trove of well thought out work from some of the top thinkers and writers on urban spaces, design and such. It’s a fantastic place to pick up anything from coffee table books on architecture to well written academic work on the human and economic geography of Paris and other old and new cities. They even have a great kids book section with fabulous gifts for curious little minds who might also want to pick up a word or two in French. One must say, the kid’s section has such a good offering that it is quite difficult to resist – even for slightly older shoppers who are barely out of their teens such as myself.
Anon's Paris 