Book Towns

Book Towns: Forty-Five Paradises of the Printed Word by Alex Johnson

Book towns can be of any size and anywhere in the world, but Alex Johnson says that many book towns are located in smaller towns and villages because rent is cheaper for proprietors. Book towns were begun with the goal of encouraging sustainable tourism and regenerating communities faced with economic collapse. A book town has several book shops and other businesses dedicated to books and the printed word. In a dedicated book town, book shops are concentrated in a small area. The movement was started by Richard Booth in Hay-on-Wye in Wales in the 1960s and spread from there (7). All of these book towns operate independently, but many are part of the International Organization of Book Towns. The IOBT seeks to raise interest in the ethos of book towns and holds a biennial festival in one of the towns.
I love to go to book stores and a book town would be even better. Below are the towns that most appealed to me and, no surprise, many are in France.

1. Bécherel, France: France's first book town in 1989 when the Fete du livre was hosted there. There are now seven other French towns that with Bécherel make up the Federation des Villes, Cites, et Villages du Livre en France. 
2. Clunes, Australia; annual festival drawing crowds of 18,000+, there are 7 bookshops scattered about the city and there is a travelling children's bookshop.
3. Cuisery, France. Jean Perdu, the protagonist of Nina George's The Little Paris Bookshop, mentions that the whole village of Cuisery is crazy about books. The town now has 15 booksellers and businesses related to books. The first Sunday of every month is a book market. 
4. Fontenoy-La-Joute, France. There is a signpost in the village center pointing visitors to other book towns around the world and imaginary locations.
5. La Charite-Sur-Loire, France. Every May the town hosts the Festival du Mot: a celebration of words in theater, dance, music, visual arts, and books. 
6. Langenberg and Katlenburg, Germany. Pastor Martin Weskott of the Johannes-Kirchengemeinde in Katlenburg has been rescuing and selling books printed in East Germany since the fall of the Berlin Wall. 
7. Montmorillon, France: La Cite de l'ecrit et metiers du livres. De la Trappe aux livres has a good number of bookcases, board games, and 100 types of beer. 
8. Montolieu, France
9. Obidos, Portugal. Instead of opening dedicated bookstores, proprietors in Obidos simply add books to the goods they sell: cookbooks compete for shelf space in the grocery store, art galleries sell art books, and museums sell history books. 
10. St.-Pierre-de-Clages, France 

Never fear, if you pick up too many books while travelling, there is always the option of shipping them home via the post office. Although, I was able to pack 28 books in my suitcases coming home from France and the cases were still not overweight. Some of my most treasured books have been collected while travelling. I enjoy looking for Agatha Christie books in France. I am loathe to part with any book, but books I purchase while travelling are kept forever.