There's something very special about books. That wonderful feel and smell of the paper as you pick up a brand-new book or turn the softer pages of one that's been opened many times before. Who read these pages before me?
Let's take a look at six rather unusual bookshops you may like to visit yourself. Each of them sells books in the English language - and, like the books on their shelves, each has its own, very special story to tell.
The Singing Wind Bookshop near Benson, Arizona, US
"Old school" - that's the best way to describe the Singing Wind Bookshop in Arizona. This bookshop really is off the beaten track or, in this case, off a bumpy dirt road just a few kilometres away from the town of Benson, Arizona. It's hidden away, right next to the ranch house, in the middle of the 200-hectare Singing Wind cattle ranch, which Winifred (Winn) Bundy and her husband bought in 1956.
The Singing Wind Bookshop really has been a labour of love. Winn Bundy completed a master's degree in library science and opened the bookshop in 1974. To begin with, it housed only 600 books. The focus of the shop has always been to celebrate America's Southwest, an area that's full of fascinating history. While Winn was still alive, visitors to the bookshop had to ring a bell when they were ready to pay, for she would usually be outdoors, working somewhere on the ranch.
Nowadays, the Singing Wind Bookshop has 30,000 new and used books covering all genres. Part of its charm is that there's no website, no social media and no promotion. There are no labels on the shelves because it's never been necessary to have them. People hear about the bookshop through word of mouth and, over the years, it's become a famous tourist destination. Book lovers travel to Arizona specially to experience the bookshop, where one of the staff will help them find what they're looking for.
Sadly, Winn Bundy died in 2020, but her daughter, son, granddaughter and volunteers are there to carry on her literary legacy. So, the next chapter of the Singing Wind Bookshop is in good hands.
College Steet Kolkata, India
Imagine a 1.5-kilometre stretch of road in a historical area of Kolkata (the official name of Calcutta since 2001), crowd it with bookshops of every description, add the wonderful chaos of India - and you have the famous College Street.
The biggest book market in India and the largest market in the world for second-hand books, College Street has every kind of bookshop you can think of - large shops, small shops and what look like temporary stalls at the side of the road. You'll find new books, second-hand books at a reasonable price, academic books of every sort and even very rare books that are out of print.
It's known as College Street because it's home to many historical educational institutions - colleges, universities and schools. Some of these are among the oldest in India, such as the Hindu School, the University of Calcutta, Calcutta Medical College and Presidency University.
There's a special atmosphere on College Street, where time seems to stand still so that you can feel the history around you. Walk along the street and you'll meet tourists, students, professors, film-makers, writers and academics, as well as people from all over the world and of every age who simply love books. You'll also see people discussing books with great enthusiasm over a cup of tea or coffee on street corners.
The Indian Coffee House, another landmark on College Street, has played an important part in the city's cultural history. Founded in 1876 and located opposite the Presidency University, it has, through the years, been a regular meeting place and intellectual battleground for students and people from the cultural world, including such famous names as Satyajit Ray.
901 West Lafayette Boulevard, Detroit, Michigan
More than a million! That's the incredible number of books at John K. King Used & Rare Books. It therefore comes as no surprise that you're given a map of the shop when you enter, to help you to find your way around.
King had always been passionate about used books, even as a schoolboy, and in 1965, he made his start in the book business, selling them from his car. He set up his first bookshop in Dearborn, Michigan, in 1971 and then, in 1983, bought the abandoned, four-storey Advanced Glove factory, a famous building in downtown Detroit. The bookshop's website tells the story of how it was "picked up and moved in the late 1940s to make way for the freeway being built nearby". The original floor mat of the glove factory still lies at the entrance. Later, John also bought the building next door, which now houses the Rare Book Room and the bookshop's offices.
There are no new books at John K. King Used & Rare Books, but it does have more than a million second-hand books housed on four floors of apparently endless bookshelves. The books cover every subject, from art, history and romance to the classics - and everything in between.
Honesty Bookshop Hay-on-Wye, Wales, UK
This is a very unusual place to buy a book, as the Honesty Bookshop is not actually a regular bookshop.
First, a small history lesson about why this small market town on the Welsh side of the border with England is a famous literary centre in the UK. Richard Booth, the man who made the town famous, was brought up here and educated at Oxford University. Booth always had a great passion for books and felt it was a pity that so many people left the small towns to live in big cities. So, he set out to bring fame to Hay-on-Wye.
In 1961, he travelled to the US, where many libraries were closing, bought up their books and returned to Hay with them. He then purchased the town's old fire station and set up his first second-hand bookshop.
In the 1960s, Booth bought the medieval Hay Castle and began selling books there. He also took over the agriculture hall in the town and opened another bookshop. As more and more bookshops opened, Hay-on-Wye soon became known as the "town of books".
In 1976, disappointed by local government, Booth declared himself King of Hay-on-Wye. He decided that the town was independent of Britain and even wore a crown. It was only for publicity but it brought attention to the town.
Today, there are more than 20 bookshops in Hay, whose population is only about 2,000. The town is, however, home to the annual Hay Festival, the largest literary event in the UK.
Back to the Honesty Bookshop. A series of outdoor bookshelves - full of a wide range of second-hand books - lean against the ancient walls of Hay Castle. There's no one to serve you, and no cash register: to pay, simply put money in one of the "honesty boxes" and take your books with you.
The Last Bookstore 453 South Spring Street, Los Angeles
The Last Bookstore is one of the last remaining bookshops in downtown Los Angeles and one of the largest independent bookshops in the world. It's spread across 2,000 square metres on two floors of a wonderful old bank building that dates back to 1914. There are more than 300,000 new and second-hand books of all genres on the shelves, as well as thousands of vinyl recordings and an arts and rare book section.
Josh Spencer, the extraordinary owner of the Last Bookstore, has been passionate about books since he was a teenager. He started his own homegrown book business after a serious road accident left him unable to walk at the age of 21. He began by selling books online, and later from his first small bookshop, which he set up in a loft apartment in 2005. In 2009, he took a short-term lease on a store on Main Street and, in 2011, expanded into the current space of the Last Bookstore on South Spring Street.
The Last Bookstore is famous around the world for its art displays made of books. These stars of social media include a tunnel of books, a book window and various book sculptures. The idea behind the art is simply to encourage people to come to the bookshop and then to develop a passion for books.
Word on the Water: the London Bookbarge Regent's Canal Towpath, Kings Cross, London
It's not every day that you're able to buy a book inside a 100-year-old Dutch barge floating on a canal in the heart of London.
This unusual bookshop was opened in 2011 by Jonathan Privett and Paddy Screech, and it has been attracting book lovers ever since. At the beginning, because of canal regulations, the barge had to relocate every two weeks, which made it difficult for customers to find it. Finally, in 2015, a public campaign backed by well-known authors persuaded the local authorities to allow the barge a permanent position on the water near Granary Square.
This is a lovely place to spend a summer evening, with chairs set up on the towpath so that you can sit there and read your new literary treasure. In winter, the wood-fired stove on the barge keeps you warm while you browse the shelves. This is also a popular venue for regular talks, music performances and poetry readings.