Start any English-language book crawl at Shakespeare and Company. This is not the same one patronized by Hemingway and Joyce between the wars--it merely shares the name. Still, it was patronized by William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg in the 1960s and by Henry Miller when he visited Paris late in life. The main part of the store has newer titles, children's books are located up some very steep steps, and the collectibles have their own annex. Artistically inclined travelers are sometimes allowed to sleep in beds sandwiched in on the upper floors--provided they're willing to do some minor chores in the store.
Satisfy your deepest book cravings at Galignani, the oldest English-language bookstore on the European continent. Located on the rue de Rivoli near the Hotel Meurice and the Louvre, the store has excellent collections of fine arts, history, cooking, gardening and children's books, not to mention literature. Its service is unparalleled, and international shipping is provided.
Search the Abbey Bookshop for Canadian titles in English and French. This small, intimate store in the Latin Quarter is rather like a book-lined apartment. You can even take a seat and drink some tea while contemplating your purchases.
Buy those English-language magazines you can't do without at W.H. Smith (the British equivalent of Barnes & Noble), just north of the Tuileries Gardens. Supposedly this location has the largest collection of English magazines in town, and it's also one of the few places you can buy a complete Sunday "New York Times." The magazine section is usually as crowded as the floor of a stock exchange. Still, there's a good selection of current books and classics, as well as history and children's books and DVDs upstairs, in a decor vaguely reminiscent of an English cottage. The store also hosts regular signings and readings.
Browse among the stalls of the "bouquinistes" along the Seine. Though most of their wares are in French, you can still find the occasional English book, and anyway, the fun is in the looking.
Discover a comprehensive collection of literature, English-language course texts and children's books at the Red Wheelbarrow in the Marais. Tea and Tattered Pages specializes in used books. The Village Voice Bookshop carries American and British literature, as well as political titles. Brentano's, near the Opera Garnier, opened in 1895, and has a large and diverse stock.
