This is a must see! If you love books, book shops and the – sometimes- peculiar people that own the shops… Wow! My fiance found this film via the Dutch website “boekendingen”. He watched the film and could not wait for me to see it. I have to say, it is a gem. The camerawork is excellent, the questions of the reporter are spot on. And the maker has left the talking to itself by just filming. Let’s tell you about it…

Make sure you have a small hour to spend. The film is about 53 minutes. You can watch it here. The quality is terrible, but that should not spoil the fun. It is about the owner of the Parisian bookstore ‘Shakespeare & co’. At some times it is almost like watching the BBC series ‘Black Books’. But this is real life! The keeper of the bookshop, Mr. Whitman, takes in lost young people and aspired writers. He is the typical person you will love to hate. But you will love him (loads!) as the documentary furthers.

I do not want to say too much about it. Except: see it! It is funny, interesting and moving. And I want to go to Paris right now. I have to visit that store. If you want to see more, click here to see a short Dutch documentary. It is also very understandable for viewers who do not know Dutch. Click here to get the website of the actual bookstore.

If someone has the documentary in better quality, please let me know.