At the urging of Seth Ditchik– our economics editor — our staff has been considering the question: Have you been to a good bookstore lately?

This question can be bit of a political minefield for most publishers and while you may expect the staff at a publishing house to support local independent stores, we also heard stories about libraries, big box stores, and used books shops. The bookstores ranged from local shops in Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA, to New Orleans, Cambridge, and even Shanghai. And the timing of our visits range from the weekly trip while walking the dog, to a “love at first sight” in a library years ago, to a single impressionable moment 10 years ago.

The stories encompass both our favorite stores and libraries and our favorite experiences in those places. We hope you enjoy reading along with us. The inaugural post should be live on the site in a few hours.