Hello! I have not disappeared completely from here!

I know it takes me forever to update my blog. I thought when I first started it that I would stay motivated in creating new content, but it turns out it is much harder than it looks. Seriously. I often think I don’t have much to say. I imagine my blog being amazing with beautiful photos and interesting posts, but when it comes down to actually doing it my mind just turns blank. I’m still learning to not put too much pressure on the content I create. I want to do things because they make me happy and not just to gain followers. So…here I am trying, once again.

As some of you may know, I visited New York City at the beginning of October. It was a trip I planned one month before hand and it just fell perfectly in place. The reason I went was because of a musical I wanted to see, and I decided to take advantage of my time there to visit some bookshops.

I have this tradition every time I visit a new city to visit as many bookshops as I can. There’s just something about walking inside a bookstore I’ve never been before that feels amazing. So of course as soon as I new I was going to NYC I started looking for bookshops to visit. I had a list of around 12 different bookshops to visit, but that was a bit unrealistic seeing as I had other things planned than just visiting bookstores. So in the end I visited four bookshops.

I first went to a Barnes&Noble located on 555 5th Ave. I know Barnes&Noble is like supper commercial and not that big of a deal, but I just love Barnes&Noble. We don’t have them here in Guatemala, so any chance I get of visiting one I go for it. The Barnes&Noble I visited was HUGE! It had was like three stories high with an amazing view the streets below. I was tempted to buying a book there right away, but decided against it. It was the first shop I went to, after all, and I didn’t want to use all my money right away. Sadly, since I was traveling on a budget I couldn’t get too many books. In the end I decided on buying just two books.

After that, I went to Shakespeare & Co. located in 2020 Broadway. Oh My God…that shop was super cute and cozy! It had a small café right on the front and I was tempted on staying there for hours writing. Sadly, I had forgotten my notebook at the Airbnb I was staying at 😦
But the shop was super nice. They didn’t have a big variety of books, though I did see some beautiful editions of classic literature. The bookshelves were super high and filled with books. It was so nice and warm inside I loved it.

After that one, I made my way to Books of Wonder on 18W 18th st. It was a cute little bookstore that sold only books for kids and YA. I fell in love with it! It was so pretty inside! It was decorated like a fairy tale with things hanging from the ceiling and everything was so colorful and vibrant! They even had a small gallery in the back of the shop with illustrations from lots of children’s books. It was such a charming shop! Here is where I bought my two books. I got The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen and one of John Howe with stunning illustrations from Lord of the Rings.

The last bookshop I visited was Strand Book Store on 828 Broadway. There are no words to describe how amazing this bookstore is…seriously, it was breathtaking.
So, it looks like that one is pretty famous. It was crowded when I got there! Seriously, the line to checkout was unbelievable. At first I got a bit stressed out, to be honest. I’m used to bookshops being quiet and relaxing, but that one was buzzing with energy. But the further I walked inside the shop the more I loved it. The bookshelves were huge, from floor to ceiling filled with books. And they had books on so many topics! Like seriously, they had like three huge bookshelves just for fashion books and I hadn’t even realized there were that many fashion books. The shop also had like four different floors. The one on top had a special collection, with super old books and special editions. It was so beautiful!

There were so many other bookshops I would have liked to visit. I also wanted to go the public library, but didn’t get around to do it. I am definitely planning my next trip to visit all the bookshops I didn’t get to. It was a beautiful experience and such a nice way of enjoying New York City.