Photo by Horst A. Friedrichs There are more than 240 âbouquinistes,â or secondhand booksellers, along the Seine in Paris. In a new book, journalist Stuart Husband and photographer Horst A. Friedrichs profile the agonies and ecstasies of 50 bookstores around the world. share this article Thereâs a special magic to a good bookstore. The best serve as temples of knowledge, places of comfort, even sources of companionship (hello, bookstore cat). As author Nora Krug writes in the introduction to Bookstores (Prestel, April 2021), a celebration of 50 of the worldâs best indie bookstores: âEntering an independent bookstore feels like setting foot in a strange town. . . . When you leave the store (hopefully with a purchased book in your bag), you find that you are richer: in images and words, in thoughts and feelings.â