Strangely Arranged: The Art of Book Display at Six International Bookstores

A Perfect Book for Bananafish
Dalian City, China
Arrangement: Minimal

When approaching Bananafish Books in China from the street, the storefront looks more like an art gallery than a bookstore. And it sort of is. The austere blue-and-white front façade is home to the shop which takes its name from a 1948 short story by J.D. Salinger, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish.” Shunning the traditional approach of displaying books on crowded bookshelves with only the spine visible, Bananafish opted to showcase their goods as revered works of art. Covers of art books and indie-zines are displayed on thin ledges lining the walls and on simple tables throughout the showroom. According to the store, “Everything here is limited and rare, just like a bananafish.” Besides operating its retail store, Bananafish runs an independent publishing house, A Perfect Book, for small-run art books that ensure its rarities will be readily replenished.

Livraria da Vila Bookstore
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Arrangement: Everywhere

Adopting the opposite approach, Sao Paulo, Brazil’s Livraria da Vila Bookstore literally covers every surface possible—including the front doors—with books. Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld floated a two-story solid volume over a light-filled first floor accessed through large bookcases that swivel to form its entrance. Inside, the bonanza of books is neatly organized around dark wood bookshelves, so the sheer quantity of books is not overwhelming. Simple staircases that appear to emerge from the shelves connect the levels, and square and circular cut-outs between the floors also include shelves and more books.

Prologue Bookstore
Singapore
Arrangement: Colorful

In Singapore, the Prologue Bookstore has used color to make shopping for books feel like a night at a club. Designed by the Ministry of Design, the 16,000-square-foot space twists and turns through meandering hallways and stairs that make the store appear to go on forever. While the majority of the space—its floors, ceilings, and bookshelves—are black and gray, a striking red, curving staircase and vivid blasts of color announcing genre sections are a treat for the eyes. According to the architects, “We sought to redefine common issues in bookstores, redefining way-finding canopies and signage at ceiling height that branched off from a sinuous central spine.” Installation art adds to the experience including “a reading Godzilla amongst a city-scape of books.”

Daikanyama T-Site Bookstore
Tokyo, Japan
Arrangement: Modern

Behind an intricate lattice facade of thousands of small T shapes forming the building’s subtle branding, the massive 130,000-square-foot Daikanyama T-Site Bookstore is laid out around a series of existing trees. Designed by Tokyo-based Klein Dytham Architecture, the bookstore covers multiple levels linked by grand stairs and glass sky bridges. At the center of the thoroughly modern space is a sky-lit atrium that features clean lines and offers tantalizing views into different sections of the bookstore. After wearing yourself out perusing the shelves, stop by the shop’s convenience store and café built around a bar made of stacked books.

Vagabond Bookstore
Södermalm, Sweden
Arrangement: Mapped

In Sweden, travel publisher Vagabond has cleverly adapted its bookshelves into a map of the surrounding city. Local design firm Smånsk layered vibrant yellow shelves over muted gray walls to form a street map that flows onto the floor, drawing a whimsical reference to the guidebooks lining the room. Actual parks represented on the yellow map are elevated to form small tables and counters. According to the designers, the theme "was based around the concepts of proximity, distance and multidimensionality. A map is the lowest common denominator of all types of travel, and in the eyes of a designer, its street patterns bear resemblance to a bookshelf.”

Shakespeare and Company
Paris, France
Arrangement: Eclectic

For the grand finale, take a trip to Paris to see the packed-to-the-brim bookstore Shakespeare and Company, just across the Seine from the Notre Dame Cathedral. Opened in 1951 by American George Whitman who stayed in the city after World War II, the shop began inauspiciously in a hotel room before growing into a storefront in the Latin Quarter. The shop has remained unchanged through more than half a century including its overflowing bookshelves and peeling paint. Shakespeare and Company has been featured in films including the 2004 romantic drama Before Sunset and Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris.