Imaginery Bookshops

This site is a list of interesting concepts for imaginary book shops, some of which are a bit abstract but others are some wonderful ideas, I really like the idea of creating hidden libraries that only a select few people might come across. This could be a concept to work towards for my brief, a safe heaven where people can take and return books on their own accord, a library without the fines and formal atmosphere.

"This site is the result of a reader coming across two wonderful books in quick succession, in a fairly ordinary bookshop. The first – Invisible Cities, by Italo Calvino – made her long for imaginary places. The second – an ode to bookselling by Lewis Buzbee called The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop– mooted the idea of ‘bookstores that don’t exist, yet should’. Imaginary Bookshops is her attempt to bring some into existence."


 Another extract from one of the posts reads-

"There is no need for a book at the top of a hill. The owners of Hilltop Books know that. On fine days they leave out a cairn of books for those who might find them. Browsing is not encouraged. The books are to be shoved into rucksacks, blurbs unread, pages unturned. Payment is left underneath a stone. When a walker gets home they unpack their rucksack, rinse their flask, rest their legs. When they open the book they find sharp air between the pages and a glimpse of the view. Wherever they are, the story is read from the hilltop."