Another World Book and Copyright Day

"As a lad," the elderly bookseller reminds, "we all queued up at midnight for a book about a wizard. It was the vogue."

The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling; Robinson Crusoe, by Defoe; Moby Dick, by Melville; Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson; The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, by Tolkien; Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl; Frankestein, by Mary Shelley, Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.. .These are some of the classics in English literature I have remembered today with my 1st year ESO students:

And my 2nd year Bachillerato students have also reflected on the power of words and reading:

Shakespeare & Company Bookshop in Paris

"On a cold windswept street, this was a warm, cheerful place with a big stove in winter, tables and shelves of books in the window, and photographs of famous writers both dead and living. The photographs all looked like snapshots and even the dead writers looked as though they had really been alive"

                                                                   Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

These lines depict Sylvia Beach´s Shakespeare & Company Bookshop, a haven for all English speaking writers in Paris during the interwar period and a gathering place for regulars like Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Scott Fitzgerald or James Joyce. With the German occupation of the city it was closed down, but a few years later, an American bohemian, George Whitman, would open another bookstore with the same name and the same ideals. It continued to be a free boarding house for aspiring and penniless writers and the new owner went on playing host to well known authors like Nobel Prize winner Samuel Beckett or the Beat poets W. Burroughs and A. Gingsberg. Whitman´s daughter runs it today, still managing to hold on its original principles.

I´ve recently visited it for the first time and I can assure you it´s worth it: on the floor, piles of second-hand books stacked there because there is no room left on the ancient wooden bookshelves; on the walls, old photos, drawings and newspaper cuttings yellowed by the years; an old typewriter, a piano waiting to be played, worn-out velvet armchairs for sitting and reading... An incredible place to hang out for those instilled with a deep and passionate respect for literature.

Take note! Facing Notre Dame Cathedral, on the left bank of the river Seine... It had to be situated in the legendary literary Latin Quarter..

Ebooks vs. Printed Books

Livraria Lello, a must-see in Porto, is considered one of the most beautiful bookshops of the world. There is no doubt everybody is impressed by its heavily decorated wooden walls and stained glass ceilings. Its beautiful spiral staircase is said to have been the inspiration for the Harry Potter moving staircases at Hogwarts School. In fact, J. K. Rowling probably visited this enchanting place quite often when living in the city. 

In today´s digital age, where e-books use is certainly on the rise, paper books are at risk of disappearing, and bookshops and libraries with them. Project Gutenberg started the first digital library in 1971, but it is nowadays when more and more readers opt for this medium. They claim plenty of advantages: when travelling the weight is lighter; if you own a lot of books, they take up much space; they are cheaper; your eyes are not so strained because you can change the size and darkness of the letters...

I think the point is not to give up reading, no matter if it is on an electronic screen or printed text. Personally, I still prefer having a small collection of my favourite books in paper neatly displayed on my bookshelf to having an entire library I will not have time to read in an electronic device. Besides, I will not get rid of my library cards yet. I strongly believe it is a wonderful experience when you browse through a bookstore in a quiet atmosphere, when you touch and hold a good book in your hands, get that comforting smell of paper and enjoy seeing a nice cover. I admit the convenience of ebooks, but I fear the sentimental value of reading may be lost.