Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered.
This Week’s Topic: Where do you buy most of your books? No one is judging!
Hmmm…I buy books everywhere, really, wherever my feet or my fingers take me.I´m sure you heard of an online store called Amazon…Well this is where I get most of my books these days. To be more precise: on Amazon.de (and then I go to the English or French sections). Sometimes, also on ebay if the book I really is out of print (e.g. you know when you discover an author and you want to read aaaaaaaaalllll of their books but they´re just not available)
The train station: if I´m there very early and it´s already late in the evening and I´m tired…I will go in the bookstore of the train station and treat myself to a book. That´s my type of retail therapy (ok I have other ones as well like clothes and trying on shoes…trying on because it´s tough to find ones which just fit…anyways :-))
The city: In the German Barnes and Nobles (i.e. Hugendubel) or in the little independent bookstore which has a lot of books in French and English.
And…when I´m in Paris, I love to roam through the old little bookstores (imagine the kind of story the book in your hand may have already gone through!) and the “bouquinistes” on the river bank. I simply love getting lost on the other side of Notre-Dame browsing what they have to offer.
Where do you get your books?
Elodie Nowodazkij 
I love “stumbling on” a new teeny bookseller! It’s great that they still thrive in larger cities.
I would *love* to be fluent in more than one language. I mean, imagine what it was like for all the French and German Harry Potter fans who didn’t have to wait for it to be translated in order to read the books, because the French and German are, from my experience, quite fluent in English too. Also, I’m always wary of reading books not originally written in English because I know the author’s style is masked by the translator’s interpretation. I would much prefer being able to read, say, Dostoevsky in his original Russian. Sadly, there are only so many hours in the day, and my days are getting shorter for being able to acquire that kind of proficiency. *sigh*
Do you feel comfortable enough with German yet to read German novels, cg?
Fancy! Germany, France … I’m jealous lol
I love that photo. I haven’t been to Europe in 27 years, and back then I wasn’t perusing the bookshelves. But someday, when the kids can take care of themselves, I will go back to Paris and look for these lovely spots. French roasted coffee, croissants, and books … I can’t imagine anything more divine.
Your post has convinced me I need to go back to Paris!
I’m already in love with Paris but seeing the bouquinistes makes me want to I go back there! I missed out on seeing that!
Buying books from the book sellers in Paris?! That would just be awesome =) I lived in Germany for a while and in the particular city I was living in, the only place to get English books was a British military shop (and they charged crazy prices). I did a lot of online ordering then!
I’m with Colin–it would be awesome to be fluent in multiple languages! I know lots of phrases in lots of languages, and I have studied Spanish quite a bit, but I certainly haven’t made the jump into fluency in anything other than English 😦 My husband is incredibly proficient at learning languages, so I just use him as my translator whenever we travel 😉
Like you– wherever I can get my hands on them! I’m a big fan of Amazon, especially because they bring them to me! (I’m not a fan of shopping.) But when I am out shopping, I’m willing to buy them anywhere! I also borrow a lot from the library.
betterworldbooks.com! I LOVE IT. Free shipping anywhere in the world. 4 books for $12. AND every time you buy a book, they give a book to a literacy organization!
I try to buy a book every time I’m in Paris, usually at that place on the Left Bank, Shakespeare and Company, just so I can say I did.
Gah! You are so lucky! If I ever get to France, I’m frequenting the book stores. What great places to find books!
We manage to find pokey little book shops when we travel, too. No place as exotic as France or Germany, but lots of the little historic towns around here have bookshops that are fun to explore. A few weeks ago we were in Nevada City and went in a bookshop to discover this tiny room under the stairs, lined with treasures.
I’ve only been to Paris once, but I love shopping along the river. And everything in old bookstores felt like it had such a history! I’m jealous you make it back often. 🙂
I am unspeakably envious of your riverbank shopping trips! Sounds absolutely lovely!
I’m like you, too…wherever I happen to be! We have a few small, independent book stores, and of course Barnes & Noble. But, as the others have said, nothing near as wondrous as YOUR book shopping!
Oh, I would love to buy books in Paris! I might only be able to read every fifth word, but they would still be romantic 😉
I understand the train station bookstore. Whenever I travel I always find myself in the airport bookstores. Buying books in Paris sounds magical.
I’m so jealous right now. I haven’t seen anything like that around here!