Footnotes* From the World's Greatest Bookstores by Bob Eckstein

Footnotes* From the World’s Greatest Bookstores (*True Tales and Lost Moments from Book Buyers, Booksellers, and Book Lovers)
by Bob Eckstein [002 Eck] 

This one caught my eye on the New Books display at the downtown library, with a cozy watercolor illustration of a charming bookstore on the cover, and an unusual physical design — a hardback cover that folds back over the top of the interior contents. Bob Eckstein is not just a writer, but also an illustrator and cartoonish. His works have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

For this book, which was inspired by a magazine article about charming bookstores in New York City, Eckstein pairs evocative watercolor paintings with an information page about each international bookstore being profiled. The paintings also incorporate quotes of hand-lettered remembrances from customers, owners, booksellers and celebrities about each individual bookstore. Eckstein started with a list of 150 noteworthy bookstores, and ended up with 75 within this volume’s pages. Covering the entire world, the bookstores profiled range from quaint little shops in out-of-the-way places in the U.S. to significant independent bookstores in India, Thailand, China, South America, France, England and more. Even The Antiquarian, a longtime staple in Omaha’s Old Market, which moved to Brownville, NE several years ago, is included.

The stories told, of odd customers, or famous authors and events, are quite memorable. The story that stuck with me was of David Bowie helping a harried bookstore employee to set up a book display, and she had no idea who he was. I always make it a point to check out unusual bookstores in any city I visit on vacation — for instance, check out MacDonald’s Book Shop in Estes Park, or The Tattered Cover in Denver, or Uncle Hugo’s and Uncle Edgar’s in Minneapolis — and this book makes me want to visit quite a few more! (Sadly, several of my old favorites, including The Mystery Book Store in Omaha, and Murder By the Book in Denver, are no more!)

[ publisher’s official Footnotes From the World’s Greatest Bookstores web site ] | [ official Bob Eckstein web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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