“Paris is the great
reading room of a library
crossed by the Seine”
Walter Benjamin (1892-1940)
Paris is a Book Stroll the streets of Paris and discover that oh-so-French passion: the love of books and literature. This book doesn’t say that Paris loves books. It says that Paris is a book, and that the world of books has a capital. This is a paradigm shift that allows Paris to exist differently in the world. Because yes, Paris is truly the world capital of books and independent bookshops. From Madrid to Melbourne, from London to Frankfurt, from Jakarta to Tokyo, to Dakar, and wherever else you may go… What city in the world offers more books than Paris, such quality, and with such freedom? Freedom to speak, freedom to write, freedom to publish, freedom to distribute, freedom to read. And if Paris is a Book is indeed a work of naming that transforms what is obvious to the senses and intuition into the status of articulated, established truth, this unique volume also serves as an instrument for exploring the city-as-book. Century-old bookshops (28 in total), specialty bookshops of every kind, libraries, riverside secondhand booksellers, statues of writers, literary cafés, poetry venues and clubs – all tell the story of Paris’s extravagant bibliodiversity and the vibrant energy of the world of letters. This feast for the eye and the mind, pushing back against the gloom of our times and the ongoing digital revolution, unfolds as a grand wandering – at once literary and photographic – around a collection of rare texts, blending contemporary writers with heritage authors, and an anthology you won’t soon forget. Alexis Margowski guides you on an immersive journey into the vast soul of Paris, an extraordinary voyage in the books that will astonish you and reveal a whole new face of the capital. Read well.
Available in all bookshops Find it here
What Readers Are Saying
“Yes, Paris is a book, dear Sir, and yours delights us. May this barricade of intelligence and beauty long protect us from the mediocrity that lurks. I am most grateful to you for thinking to honor me with this magnificent volume, which I keep within reach of both heart and hand.”
Olivier Bétourné,
Historian and publisher (Seuil, Albin Michel, Fayard)
“The postman, most fortuitously, has just brought me your magnificent volume… I repeat my admiration for this book, which people will talk about, and which will stand as a model of its kind. And I am certain that you will not fail to astonish us in the future with other achievements worthy of this one. I particularly appreciated certain discoveries that amount to genuine technical feats. The map of Paris alone, pinpointing over 600 bookshops – the very proof of the title’s claim. A work reflecting such intimacy with Paris and with books that it would have taken most others decades to achieve. And yet you are nowhere near the age of old Anatole France strolling through the Luxembourg Gardens, of the seasoned author behind Le Piéton de Paris! But Corneille warned us: worth does not wait upon the years. I am certain that your book will remain a reference work for a very long time.”
Jean-Yves Mollier,
Emeritus Professor of history, specialist in the history of publishing and reading
“This is a quietly magnificent work, enlightened and deeply attuned to booksellers. The book bursts with energy on every page, breaking free of clichés and opening up whole new horizons.”
Camille Aubaude,
Poet
“A tribute that fills a long-standing gap by celebrating the bookshops and writers of this city like no other. I cannot thank you enough for sending me your beautiful work, Paris is a Book.”
Roger-Pol Droit,
Philosopher
“A magnificent work that takes you on an extraordinary journey through Paris.”
Paul Flad,
National Institute for Deaf Youth, Paris
“A jewel of a book, destined to become an ornament of my own library. It is an honor and a way of belonging more closely still to that world of literature which you celebrate with such care and devotion. My deepest thanks for so much beauty which opens the mind to reflection.”
William Marx,
Collège de France
“I must thank you for this wonderful book about the readers of Paris, which has been a true delight and will find its rightful place on the Books and Readers shelf of our center in Lisbon. A thousand thanks, once again.”
Alberto Manguel,
Writer, translator, and literary critic
“Such an admirable book about Paris – that infamous capital, as Baudelaire called it; the capital of the book and of books, as you would have it. Beautiful and utterly captivating. Those of love books and reading, and images, will be deeply grateful to you. I particularly loved your anthology, which bears witness to your passion and invites us to share in it. And as you might imagine, I am especially moved by the prominence you give to Baudelaire and Rimbaud. The author of Le Bateau ivre is something of your figurehead, if I may say so. I do not know by what technique you achieved, in the photographs of statues, that blurring of the image – or rather, as one says of Corot’s landscapes, that powdery quality – but the effect is superb.”
André Guyaux,
Emeritus professor of literature, Sorbonne University, specialist in Charles Baudelaire
“Fascinating, moving and beautiful. Thank you for taking the time to create a work that does so much good!”
Camille Sourget,
Dealer in rare and precious books, Paris 6
“A thousand thanks, truly, for this magnificent book, so finely written and crafted – an absolute delight that chimes perfectly with my own passion for this city of books and words. I keep discovering beautiful hidden gems within it.”
Philippe Bordas,
Writer (Prix Nadar, Villa Médicis, Prix Louis Barthou de l’Académie Française 2023, Prix Italiques 2024)
“Congratulations on this significant work, in every sense of the word. Rest assured of our unwavering commitment to championing the art of books, particularly amongst the youngest readers.”
Louis Delas,
Publisher, President of L’école des loisirs, Vice-President of the French National Publishers’ Union
“Dear Sir, this Christmas, my son Thomas had the brilliant idea of giving me Paris is a Book, and what a gift it was. What better guide through the streets and secrets of the capital than the printed word itself? Your work, beautifully illustrated and enriched with countless quotes from writers and bibliophiles, has captivated me completely. It is an incomparable invitation to hunt down the bookshops of Lutetia – my favorite pastime – in search of treasures among rare and antique editions. My interest lies in all books from the 15th and 16th centuries, and above all – though by no means exclusively – in works from the presses of Florence and Venice. I should mention that I spent nearly thirty years teaching Italian language and civilization at the University of Dijon-Burgundy, specializing in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than turning the pages of an old book, moved as much by the beauty of the script and the layout of the pages – often illustrated themselves (such as the medieval codices from the 10th to 15th centuries faithfully reproduced by those fabulous Spanish publishing houses) – as by the feel of the parchment or paper, or the fragrance of the leather bindings. But I digress, what I really want to say is how much I admire the spirit of your work, and thank you above all for having conceived it as you did. This book will now be my companion for the rest of my days, whenever I venture into the Paris of Letters. With my warmest regards.”
Jean-Marie Roussel
“My husband and I thank you for sending us your magnificent Paris is a Book. It has taught us so much about this fascinating city.”
Jémia et J.M.G. Le Clézio
Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850), stone statue sculpted by Alexandre Falguière (1831-1900),Place Georges-Guillaumin (8th)
Original texts by Stéphanie des Horts, Jean-Philippe de Tonnac, Patricia Sorel, Khaled Miloudi, Frédéric Brun and Camille Aubaude. A collection of rare texts, featuring literary gems by Adrienne Monnier, Victor Hugo, Jacques Roubaud, Marcel Proust, Julien Gracq, Léon-Paul Fargue… followed by an anthology of blazing fragments. Prelude by Jacques Attali. Photography: Martin Bruno and Alexis Margowski.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), stone statue sculpted by André Bizette-Lindet (1906-1998),Place du Panthéon, Paris 5ème
Paris est un livre Price : 49€ 350 pages, hardcover Published by Keribus Editions Photography : Martin bruno UD distribution, Actes Sud diffusion Find it here
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