Comments on: Paris: The city’s most enchanting bookstores

By: hidden europe

hidden europe — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:54:06 +0000

Such a interesting contrast in the comments here. Although in another thread here we took issue avec The Bookworm for being so down on St Moritz, it could be he or she has a point here in Paris. Sadly neither of us ever met George Whitman, but he certainly had a reputation for nicely challenging people’s assumptions – and in a manner that was urbane, sincere and ever-sensitive to others’ feelings. From what we have read, he was so very good at nudging people out of their comfortable preconceptions, sowing a few seeds of radical thought, persuading them indeed that a socialist world was perhaps the only credible way forward. In that respect, he was definitely provocative rather than merely enchanting.
Susanne and Nicky

By: Sandy

Sandy — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 00:48:59 +0000

Ahhhhh. Which place to try first??? Warm and fuzzy are “My Thing!”
Postcards and magazines will be my first sections. Well done, Theadora! Your pics are so clear and the colors so vivid!

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:00:25 +0000

As someone who was often enchanted by George, I couldn’t disagree more with the previous writer’s assessment. He reveled in his role as an in-betweener: his shop was the one place visited by young English-speaking readers from elsewhere where they could always count on a friendly book recommendation, travel advice, or even–if you were female–the offer of a sofa if you had no other place to spend the night. The latter was always provided in a completely gentlemanly way, not at all a come-in. Perhaps he just gave his customers whatever they needed most, or maybe he saved his gruff (and provocative?) side for bearded and bookish men, but after dealing with so many Parisians who were (understandably) tired of dealing with the ignorance of visitors like me, it was enchanting indeed.

By: The Bookworm

The Bookworm — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:19:29 +0000

RIP George Whitman. Old George would probably have been aghast to hear Shakespeare and Company listed under ‘enchanting’. He wanted to be provocative more than enchanting.