This would be the perfect present for someone bookish! It would look great on their coffee table - the photos inside are also beautiful!

Also, I need to move to a book town.

A fascinating insight into Book towns around the world. Who knew there were so many? I was aware of Hay-on -Wye but great to see there are many more. Something interesting on every page. It would make a great coffee table book - I think everyone would find something to grab their interest. I loved the photos, they really added to the attraction of each page. Highly recommend.

Book Towns by Alex Johnson is a beautiful history of book towns from around the world! A must read for book lovers everywhere! Packed with information and real photos, Book Towns will transport you across countries such as France, USA, Germany, Scotland, Spain, Norway, Sweden, and even South Korea! I really enjoyed learning about each book town and I was surprised at some of the cities! Also included at the end of the book are towns that are not officially labeled as book towns, but they should be! Organized by city in alphabetical order, this is a great book to add to that coffee table collection.

A coffee table book that I particularly enjoyed due to the topic. Some pictures are really good and one of my dream is to visit them all.

Un libro da tavolino che mi é piaciuto particolarmente per via dell'argomento che tratta. Alcune immagini sono veramente belle e uno dei miei sogni nel cassetto consiste nel visitare tutti questi posti.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

Very much what it says it is, this is a pictorial guide to book towns – those places, inspired by the success of Hay-on-Wye, that have regenerated their buildings and economies by having an emphasis on books, book festivals and suchlike. Highly illustrated, with travel tips, buying guides and potted histories over four pages (only three entries get six), the contents tie in with the members of an International Organisation of Book Towns, but apart from a specialist looking into them all, I can't see anyone thinking this justifies a straight beginning-to-end read, however bright and friendly the book town concept is. This then is a coffee-table-in-miniature book approach to something a little too academic to justify such treatment, and a guide that seems to think we will hare out and tick them all off a bucket list as if they were Wetherspoon's. It's fine, but I can't see it swamping the shelves of its contents.

This world-wide guide to book towns (small towns or villages devoted to book stores & the book arts) has brief descriptions of each town, often with listings of stores, and lots of charming pictures.

While I'm not entirely sure that all book towns are successful, many described are struggling, it's lovely as a guide to these quirky places for travelers, even those in armchairs.

I am the kind of person who goes to Portland to spend time at Powell's City of Books. I am the kind of person that when I ran out of room in my luggage, when I was in Australia, shipped as many of the books home, as I could. I'm the kind of person that, when I can, stuffs my suitcases full of books, no matter what city I visit.

So, when I saw this book about book towns, town that are gearted to lovers of books like me, I though it would be fun to read, and so it was. I knew about Hay on Wye, the city that decided to build its legacy on books, and i have been meaning to visit it for years. The cool thing is that according to this book, there are now 44 more areas across the globe, that are trying to recreate what Hay on Wye has done.

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From South Africa to Canada, from New York to Featherson New Zealand, book towns have appeared all over. The book covers each one with a nice photo spread, and a story of the book stores that can be found there, as well as information about book store related festivals.

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The only one I found a little stretched was the one about the "Gold Cities" in the Gold country of California, which is stretched across Nevada City and Grass Valley. The one is only sort of in existence, now and it seems strange, for a travel book, to be talking about what was, rather than what is.

Still, this would be a good starting point for finding cities in the area you want to travel to, that just happen to have book festivals.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I would like to thank Quarto Publishing Group for making me Auto Approved to read their books. Book Towns is a great parade around forty town around the world which has a special place for books.

We travel from Wales to Canada to Spain to Norway to France. Some of the photographs and writing is immense. I haven’t had the privilege of visiting any of the towns mentioned but it is certainly on my list now.

Thank you to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group and Alex Johnson for my ARC in return for my honest review.

Excellent read. Recommended.

This book was sooooo fun to look through! I was a little annoyed because I thought all the Book Towns would be in Europe but they aren't! Beautiful pictures of book stores, book wagons, book sales, make me want my town to be a book town too!
I want to make sure and take pictures of all the cool book stores and tables and wagons everywhere I travel!

Thanks to netgalley for the read! I loved it!

I had never heard of Book Towns or known that such a thing exists, but now I want to visit all of them! This is a wonderful book full of beautiful illustrations and information about each Book Town. There is already a waiting list at my library for this one!

I absolutely LOVED this book. Needless to say I'm a bookworm and I love going around, finding little gems of book stores where I go. This book covers many towns that has book collecting culture, second hand book shops, etc. In some, famous authors lived. Probably I wouldn't found out easily if it wasn't for this book. It's a very good collection of towns you can look up when you're visiting a country if you want to add another stop enjoying local book shops there.
Highly recommend. Thanks to Neygalley and the publisher for granting a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Towns is my kind of travel guide. Packed full of photographs, it showcases 45 books towns from around the world.

Book towns are small towns, often in rural and scenic locations, which are packed full of bookshops and book-related industries. The book town movement began with the wonderful Hay-on-Wye in Wales in 1960s and has grown significantly since then.

I have only visited two book towns to date – Hay-on-Wye in Wales and Wigtown in Scotland – but this book has provided me with inspiration for so many more trips, from Urueña, the only Spanish town with more bookshops than bars, to Sidney in Canada, which is home to The Haunted Bookshop.

With photographs showing the beautiful locations and, of course, mountains of books, this guide offers a real insight into these havens of literature created by and for book lovers, booksellers, publishers, librarians and printmakers. The author encourages us to visit and to buy a book or two and reminds us that in doing so, you aren’t just helping to save the printed book, you are also helping to keep these communities alive.

It’s the only travel companion a book lover needs.

Absolutely loved this book. I was concerned that the towns suggested would only be in one continent but they aren't. Although looks like France has most book towns!
Lovely addition to the library if you're a book lover and traveler. I'll definitely try and visit this book towns - I wish I knew a few of them - Swede and Norwegian ones- as I recently wandered quite near by but didn't have a clue they were there!
Highly recommended. Also photos are amazing.

"Book Towns" is an essential travel guide for book lovers planning the ultimate literary itinerary. A book town is not simply a place with a couple of secondhand shops; it is a place where reading permeates the architecture, economy, festive events, and general atmosphere of the town. Many of the featured book towns are located in Europe, but every continent (aside from Antarctica) makes at least one appearance.

This book is the perfect "coffee table" book, with detailed descriptions of over 40 book towns. Along with the fascinating history, it contains beautiful photography from all over the world. Perfect for those who love travel, history, or just books in general.

This is perfect for any bibliophile who likes to go abroad. With its gorgeous photos and succinct yet informative descriptions, this work exposes book-lovers to a wonderfully varied collection of miniature paradises and gives them more than ample motivation to hatch new plans for travel.

This book details the history of book towns. Informative, with gorgeous photography....makes the reader long to seek out each and every bookish destination.

If you are a lover of literature, if you find true happiness within the pages of a book, then this is the read for you. Featuring 45 cities and towns around the globe that celebrate literature through their history, printers, libraries and book stores, this is a must for every book lover and armchair traveler. Filled with gorgeous photos guaranteed to give you itchy feet