Description: Shakespeare and Company is an incredibly cramped bookshop just oozing with books from every direction. There's an upper level accessible by a very narrow and steep staircase that I didn't dare attempt to climb. I decided to buy a new copy of James Joyce's Ulysses to replace my dog-eared copy from my university days. On our visit, the shop was run by an older man who had previously smashed into me with a box of books. Being the polite Canadian that I am, I patiently waited with my book in hand for him to stop ignoring me. Finally, I managed to get his attention, and he seemed perplexed as to why there's a person standing in front of him holding a book even though he's sitting in front of a cash register. I paid far too much for a book I already own, but this one's stamped by the very place that first published the book back in 1922.
This shop is definitely a must for die-hard literature and bookshop fans – for everyone else, it’ll just seem like a ramshackle little shop with indifferent service.
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