Time for a confession. We're not sure what you'll think of us when we admit this. Maybe you'll think "ah such provincial thinking Americans" or you'll just think we're novice bibliophiles but we're coming out with it. Brace yourself. So here goes: we just found out about Hay-on-Wye, a small town in Wales, thanks to a Reuters article (posted here) about the upcoming book festival. If you're in the dark like us then here's why this little town is so special. It is the world's capital of second-hand bookstores. For those of you in the know, please don't judge us but rather help convince our boss that a trip to this magical place must be on the list for future travel coverage.
The town, which is home to just 1,500 people, has at least 30 bookstores. The history of how the quaint town became the epicenter of bookstores has its roots with Richard Booth who decided to turn his small town to a bookstore mecca some years back. Booth who is now in his 70s, opened his first book store in 1961. Following the success of his store, others also wanted to become purveyors of old books. Since Booth started his venture, many establishments in the town have been transformed into bookstores, from a hair salon, hardware store to even a castle (well, that's where Booth's bookstore is; it's in an 800 year-old castle).
(We need a short break here so we can stop hyperventilating from excitement)
As we collect our breath, here's a digression of sorts. From what we've heard, Richard Booth is an eccentric kind of fella and the kind we love here at Books & Review. In an article by David Slawych of the Toronto Sun, we learn that "Near the cash register (of his bookstore), postcards for sale feature Booth's face superimposed onto an image of Henry VIII. Booth has reason to play up the royalty theme. On April 1, (April Fool's Day) 1976, he generated enormous publicity for the town when he declared Hay independent from Britain and had himself crowned king!"
It wasn't until 1988 when the Hay Festival of Literature & the Arts was launched that the small Welsh town got put on the map for its book loving ways. The festival takes place every year and many luminaries such as Bill Clinton and Al Gore have attended the festival. In fact, it was former president Clinton who called the festival, "Woodstock of the Mind." This year's festival will fun from May 25th till June 5th.
We really would like to go to the festival next year since it'll take a book god miracle to get us there now. So next year would be nice. Did we say that already?