I now have a new ambition – to visit all the places described in this enchanting compendium of book towns all around the world. Who knew there were so many! Beautifully illustrated, this is an essential volume for every book lover, even for those who can only dream of visiting any of the towns featured.

Thank you to Alex Johnson, Quarto Publishing Group, Frances Lincoln, and NetGalley for allowing me the extreme pleasure of access to an advanced reader copy of “Book Towns: Forty Five Paradises of the Printed Word” for an honest review.

I jumped at the title of this book immediately, and I thought it was tongue-in-cheek somehow for what it would be focused on (books, of course, and maybe where to find them), but then it arrived and I spent the whole time this book was open hungrily devouring the sights, sounds, and details of something I never knew exited - BOOK TOWNS.

Actual, factual book towns. The photography took my breath away in several shots, and I started making lists of where I wanted to start visiting before I even got to one third of the way through. I want a copy of this for my house, and a copy to take traveling with me across the US and internationally!

Book Town ENVY. The pictures in this book are GORGEOUS and I want to go to every single place mentioned in this book! Heck, I want to LIVE in them all! This book will make you DROOL with how some people, and even countries, live re: book love.

The only sad thing is that there were quite a few book towns that have gotten smaller and some that have even folded up. Which leads me to why this is a 4 and not a five star book. This book is already dated I am sure. If one were to read this book more than a year after it came out, I would hazard a guess that some of the places mentioned would have changed. Maybe for the better I would hope, though depressingly probably the other way.

I would highly recommend this book if you 1) love books, 2) love to travel (in reality or via "armchair travel" via a book) and 3) find beauty in the impermanence of things. This book is more sweet than bitter, so it's not overly sad, but it is there. I think most users of any book site will love this book and it would make an EXCELLENT gift. I would personally recommend the "real" book rather than eBook format, if only because of the pictures. They are GORGEOUS, but I couldn't figure out how to make them bigger without making the whole thing wonky. That's just me being tech-challenged, but if pressed, I will always say the real book is better. Usually. ; ) So a solid 4 stars!

My thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln for the invitation and eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Despite its unassuming and slightly uninspiring cover, this is a wonderful coffee table book. It showcases Book Towns around the world to explore, drool and fantasize over so is perfect to look at while you or visitors are having a cup of tea or coffee.  If like me, you don't know what book towns are they are towns dedicated to literature with book shops, festivals and history. They are bibliophiles' dream locations. This non-fiction book covers over 40 of them and inspires with it's stunning photographs, simple format and descriptions. It made me want to be there to experience the shops, smell the books and browse the endless bookshelves for the perfect book or two or three. I would love to visit them all especially Hay-on-Wye, Sedbergh and Wigtown as they are in the UK but I long to travel to Fjaerland in Norway. If I won the lottery I would go on a worldwide tour ticking them off one by one.
It is an ideal addition to a bookcase and would make a lovely gift for book lovers and travellers. I long for a physical copy to treasure and dream over.
I was given a digital copy by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A delightful little book that gives a brief introduction to different book towns around the world. I now have lots of new places to add to my bucket list.

The author also runs a blog at https://www.onthebookshelf.co.uk/

Book Towns collects, as the name would suggest, Book Towns from all over the world. It was an interesting little book for those of us who breathe books, so to speak. I couldn't help but be attracted to them and have added several (in Belgium and The Netherlands) that I would like to visit this summer. Others I would like to visit in the future.

Every town is featured with a story, and several pictures as well as some information. While in general this was really nice, it felt like some of the Book Towns didn't have enough information to really fill the pages. Also, it became repetitive a bit, as most book towns were generated from a Marketing/Tourism point of view and the story was often the same. Also also, it was sad to read that quite a few of them were way past their heyday.

Still a nice read for book lovers.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Whenever I travel, be it near or far, I always look for the local bookshops where I love to browse and buy. Shakespeare and Co. in Paris, Daunt Books in London, Politics and Prose in DC...you get the idea. So, you can imagine that I might find this book appealing and indeed I do. "Book Towns" is a book about towns like Hay on Wye where there are many bookshops and book festivals. I learned that many book towns began in order to improve local economies. In this book, many such towns are visited. The armchair traveler can spend time in France, England, Scotland, Wales, Belgium, Finland, the U.S., South Africa, etc. Plus, if you are planning a trip to one of the towns mentioned, you will know just where to go. The photographs made me long to be in each and every town and store. I highly recommend this book for all bibliophiles. Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto.

A gorgeous book showing us the beautiful towns around the world that are dedicated to the written word, ‘Book Towns’ is a must read for a reader with wanderlust.

Giving brief biographies of these places along with highlights to visit this book really gives a great perspective of these different towns, keeping it honest but also highlighting just what these towns have to offer when it comes to your literary needs. Places such as Clunes in Australia for example stands out for me for its interesting and unique way of selling books - by preserving its past.

These biographies are accompanied by some gorgeous photography. In particular, Fjaerland in Norway’s entry in this book has some stunning photos of the views found in the town and Redu in Belgium’s pages showcase both it’s beauty and the talents of its residents, something that is a theme throughout this book as it shows not just bookshops but binders, paper makers and libraries as well.

A book that will make you want to grab your passport (if you love books, of course) and leave your house for one, Book Towns is a concise and beautifully made book that highlights some incredibly unique places, whether they be town, cities or even just a street.

This was a fantastic, beautiful and informative book that I would recommend to all book lovers! I always wanted to travel one day to all the beautiful places that revolve around literature. It's amazing all the unique and beautiful places. I can't wait to the day I can travel to these places like Hay-On-Wye but for now it was fantastic to travel to all these beautiful bibliophile centered places via this book!

If you enjoy browsing bookshops and are a bit of a traveller at heart this is the perfect books for you! This is a pictorial version of my bucket list, a fabulous book reviewing go to places for the book lover, towns pop ups and hints on where to go for more information. Each section reviews each location, a bit of history as to why its so special and lots of photographs. The perfect gift for a book lover.

This book features 45 towns around the world that hold the world of literature to a high standard. There re lots of book shops as well as special events in each town devoted to books. The books shops can specialize in new, used, antique, children's, or any other type of book you can imagine. Not only are the shops the high points to get a town listed in this book but really anything that has to do with books as well like book binding, Authors and more.

The photos in this book are outstanding. There are tons of photos featuring store fronts, people at work with the books, a town view and more.

You also learn a bit about each town featured.. The history, why they have been featured in the book. There are links to each towns celebrations and more as well as directions to get you to the towns.

If you are a book love you will love this book.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

Review: interesting nonfiction about book towns. Towns that have a high amount of book stores in them. Which I found fascinating as there aren't that many used bookstores where I am. This id's a good gift idea for someone who loves books or themed travels.

Gorgeous! So many wonderful places illustrated through the commonality of books. As a librarian, nothing makes me happier.

This would make a great gift for any bibliophile, particularly one who loves to travel. The book examines various cities worldwide that have a thriving book culture. Lovely photographs and a cute concept.

#BookTowns #NetGalley

Beautiful catalog of bookstores cities to try during the travel with reference websites to prepare the travel of any book lover

Very interesting book. I visited one of the book towns mentioned in the book (In Kolkata) and thoroughly enjoyed my trip. Having read about it in this book, i was able to appreciate the book market much more than i would have had I not read the book.

Now, every book town that the author talks about is in my bucket list of places to visit and explore.

This book is a book lover's dream. The descriptions and photos make me desperate to visit each town pictured. I got the netgalley after the book was published and have already stocked the book.

Wonderful collection of bibliophile destinations around the world. Definitely european centric but probably not to the authors fault. Overall a very informative and interesting travel guide!

Gorgeous little book about book towns around the world (although they’re mostly in western Europe). I wish there had been more photos, particularly of the insides of the bookshops - what reader doesn’t love seeing bookshop interiors? It’s still very sweet though, and now I want to visit every place mentioned in the book. A great gift for a bookish friend.

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.