Achieving My Life's Goal

For years, one of the major goals in my young adult life is to travel to the most renowned, beautiful, old, and mysterious bookstores across the world. I compiled a list in 2020 and it is listed as follows (in no particular order) 

1. El Ateneo Grand Splendid (Buenos Aires, Argentina) 

2. Livraria Bertrand (Lisboa, Portugal) 

3. Shakespeare and Company (Paris, France) 

4. Atlantis Books (Oia, Greece) 

5. Starfield Library (Seoul, South Korea) 

6. The Strand (New York City, New York) 

7. Powell’s (Portland, Oregon)

8. Livraria Lello (Porto, Portugal) 

9. Libreria Acqua Alta (Venice, Italy) 

10. Honesty Bookshop (Hay-on-Wye, Wales) 

11. City Lights (San Francisco, California)  

12. Selexyz Dominicanen (Maastricht, The Netherlands) 

I was lucky enough to check one of these off my list during my visit to Portland, Oregon over the weekend. Powell’s was magical! The bookstore was categorized by color and stretched so wide. The store was packed and the cafe had great chai. It was all that I dreamed.  

Now, I have visited 5 out of the 12 from my list ( Livraria Bertrand, The Strand, Atlantis Books, Shakespeare and Company, and now Powell’s!) 

Keeping this little list as a goal of mine has tethered me to my love of literature and travel. I feel so proud each time I arrive at one of these stores. I hope to achieve my goal before I turn 30, but realistically I don't think I ever will fully finish. The list is slowly growing in size as I discover all the more hidden sparkling crannies where books are slyly being hoarded and sold.