"Some bookstores are filled with stories both inside and outside the bindings. These are places of sanctuary, even redemption---and Jeremy Mercer ...
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Nov 05, 2007
Erin
rated it: 
Although I liked it alright, this was not as interesting a book as one would think. I found myself attracted to the passages Mercer gave over to the history of the bookstore and its dedicated founder, George Whitman. But all in all, it was a memoir written the way popular memoir is typically written - which is to say, personal, a bit of spice to keep your attention, but so much about the author it becomes a bit annoying in its self-absorption, and loses its charm and resonance. It wasn't bad, if
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Apr 03, 2011
Gerry
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Shakespeare and Company in Paris, in the shadow of Notre Dame, is one of the world's most famous bookshops.
The original bookshop was the haunt of many literary greats such as James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein, but the legendary owner, Sylvia Beach, closed it down after World War II.
George Whitman opened his bookstore in the 1950s and eventually changed its name to Shakespeare and Company and although this is the second incarnation of the store of that name, More...
The original bookshop was the haunt of many literary greats such as James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein, but the legendary owner, Sylvia Beach, closed it down after World War II.
George Whitman opened his bookstore in the 1950s and eventually changed its name to Shakespeare and Company and although this is the second incarnation of the store of that name, More...
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Jun 12, 2009
Stephanie
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JEREMY Mercer’s memoir Time Was Soft There has enough quirky moments to keep you interested, but in the end feels like a too-long vacation in an unremarkable city.
The premise is intriguing: A young Canadian crime reporter has to flee the country when he betrays one of his underworld contacts. Hot-footing it to Paris, he is near destitution when he chances upon Shakespeare & Co., a bookstore run by George Whitman, an eccentric American whose socialist ideals lead him to offer free lod More...
The premise is intriguing: A young Canadian crime reporter has to flee the country when he betrays one of his underworld contacts. Hot-footing it to Paris, he is near destitution when he chances upon Shakespeare & Co., a bookstore run by George Whitman, an eccentric American whose socialist ideals lead him to offer free lod More...
Sep 30, 2010
Susan
rated it:
If you're looking for an easy read about a famous bookstore and a bit of its history (including a behind-the-scenes look at its quirky owner, George Whitman), I'd recommend this book. While the story lags in parts, the title is odd, and the author's tone can be a bit self-involved at times, for the most part it is a pleasant read about a Parisian literary and cultural institution.
I was particularly drawn to this book because, like thousands of other passers-by, my sister and I, duri More...
I was particularly drawn to this book because, like thousands of other passers-by, my sister and I, duri More...
Sep 12, 2009
Boof
rated it:
I'm glad I have finished this book; it was really beginning to irritate me! I wanted to like it, I really did - Books, Paris, what's not to love? What a shame then that what started off as a very promising look into Paris's most famous of bookstores quickly descended into one of the most self-indulgent memoirs I have ever read.
Jeremy Mercer is a Canadain journalist who after printing the name of someone he promised he wouldn't name, did a runner one Christmas to Paris and ended up s More...
Jeremy Mercer is a Canadain journalist who after printing the name of someone he promised he wouldn't name, did a runner one Christmas to Paris and ended up s More...
Jan 18, 2012
Rachael
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This book had all of the key ingredients for a memoir I'd love (a journalist living a in a Parisian bookstore), but I just couldn't enjoy the writer's style. Perhaps it is that Jeremy Mercer, the crime journalist, writes in such a frank and dry tone. I'm sure he's a fabulous writer of criminal journalism. I just wanted more from his friendship with George and I wanted more from his relationships with men and women during his time at Shakespeare & Co. I know he has a personality in there, but the
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Mar 29, 2010
Erin
rated it: 
If you've been to Paris you're probably familiar with Shakespeare & Co., that wonderful old bookstore on the Left Bank across from Notre Dame. This book was written by a young Canadian journalist who flees Canada for Paris after becoming inadvertently mixed up with some crime figures in his city. He runs out of money and ends up living at Shakespeare & Co., since they have a writer-in-residence program.
I fell in love with Shakespeare & Co. while staying around the corner during my ho More...
I fell in love with Shakespeare & Co. while staying around the corner during my ho More...
Dec 05, 2009
Ivan
rated it:
Ever just feel like chucking it all - your job, your bills and all your other obligations? Well, my friends, you're gonna love this book. For circumstances somewhat beyond his control, author Mercer fled his Canadian home and found refuge in Shakespeare and Company, the famous Paris bookstore.
It's important to note that this isn't Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare and Company, but rather George Whitman's Shakespeare and Company - a bookstore and would-be-writer flophouse. Whitman - no rela More...
It's important to note that this isn't Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare and Company, but rather George Whitman's Shakespeare and Company - a bookstore and would-be-writer flophouse. Whitman - no rela More...
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Oct 01, 2011
Annie
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I'm somewhat surprised that other reviewers found the author self indulgent; to me he was in the story without remotely being the story. yes, the first chapter is about him, but the book would be missing context had it been left out and it does cycle back to mirror a theme. yes, they got drunk at the river, but those bits aren't about getting drunk, they're about the interactions of the people. his feelings are almost universally described in relation to something, to give insight into the recei
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Feb 12, 2012
Luara
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Disponível aqui: http://isaacsabe.wordpress.com/2012/02/0...
Nunca fui para a Europa, pra falar bem a verdade nunca saí do Brasil. E mesmo o Brasil conheço pouco, sou de São Paulo, morei em Minas e agora moro no Rio. Já fui para Recife um final de semana, nunca fui pro Sul, quando era bem pequena fui pra Fortaleza e Salvador, mas não me lembro. Resumindo, tenho larga experiência em rodoviárias do sudeste, e nula experiência em grandes aeroportos internacionais. Em março farei, pela pri More...
Nunca fui para a Europa, pra falar bem a verdade nunca saí do Brasil. E mesmo o Brasil conheço pouco, sou de São Paulo, morei em Minas e agora moro no Rio. Já fui para Recife um final de semana, nunca fui pro Sul, quando era bem pequena fui pra Fortaleza e Salvador, mas não me lembro. Resumindo, tenho larga experiência em rodoviárias do sudeste, e nula experiência em grandes aeroportos internacionais. Em março farei, pela pri More...
Apr 04, 2008
Megan
rated it:
While at times I found the narrator annoying or simply didn't like what he was writing, overall the book is a breezy, beautiful story about his time living in a famous Paris book store. I liked it because it is the sort of book that provides a calming break from any of the day's busyness.
Dec 21, 2011
Khairul H.
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Can't help but feel disappointed with Mercer's memoirs of living in a famous English bookshop in Paris, France. The history of the place was interesting (this is not the original Shakespeare and Co. bookshop owned by Sylvia Beach) but I felt that the characters who took refuge in the bookshop were one step away from being labelled losers. Harsh? That's a matter of opinion. There's Kurt, a screenwriter wannabe. There's Simon, a poet with a penchant for drink and drugs. And then there's the propri
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Jan 25, 2008
Miranda M.
rated it: 
Anyone who loves independent bookstores (and anyone who loves Paris, loves books, loves San Francisco's City Lights bookstore, is planning to visit Paris, okay, let's just say anyone!) should read this enchanting story about the legendary Shakespeare & Company bookstore in Paris.
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May 26, 2010
Sull
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A somewhat interesting but non-compelling read about a feckless journalist who tried to escape some troubles in his native Canada & found himself in Paris needing somewhere to crash & hide for a while. Shakespeare & Co., that crazy bookstore & literarian homeless shelter, proved to be a place he could work his way into. The eccentric owner/guru, George Whitman, took the author under his wing & the years slid by, seemingly well lubricated by alcohol & perhaps soft drugs.... till more trouble ch
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Nov 18, 2011
Alex
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I've been curious about the Shakespeare and Co bookshop since hearing it talked about with reference to Allen Ginsburg and reading the experience of a woman who traveled to stay there for a week but Jeremy Mercer lived there for a number of months and formed a bond with George, the captain of the bookshop. George Whitman for decades has welcomed all who come to stay and Jeremy finds himself in the strange world of friendship, egos, lack of money and untold riches of literature. While I was expec
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Jun 27, 2010
Jason
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The first chapter, in which the author relates how he fetched up at the celebrated Parisian bookstore, gave me the impression that this book would be painfully middle-class. The second, in which he explains that he was running from a death threat following a dubious career as a crime-reporter, scotched those fears: thankfully, this book is seedier than it looks.
George Whitman, communist, traveller, prickly eccentric and man of the world, opened Shakespeare & Co half a century ago, an More...
George Whitman, communist, traveller, prickly eccentric and man of the world, opened Shakespeare & Co half a century ago, an More...
Jun 29, 2011
DeAnna
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This book has been on my reading list for a long while. I was looking to buy it but never could find it in the book stores.
I guess I could have ordered it but there is something about buying a book in an actual book store that is satisfying to me.
Anyway...I decided to request it via Interlibrary Loan.
I'm very glad I did. Mercer didn't pull many punches in this book. Living the literary bohemian lifestyle was a dirty business. People were penniless, unwashed and very eccentric. More...
I guess I could have ordered it but there is something about buying a book in an actual book store that is satisfying to me.
Anyway...I decided to request it via Interlibrary Loan.
I'm very glad I did. Mercer didn't pull many punches in this book. Living the literary bohemian lifestyle was a dirty business. People were penniless, unwashed and very eccentric. More...
Jun 06, 2007
Anna
rated it:
A wonderful story, well written... it made me want to go there and do all the things that the author did, which is the definition of a good "travel" story, if you ask me.
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Mar 27, 2008
Marye
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For anyone who has worked in a bookstore, who has romanticized working in a bookstore, and who wants a little validation for bohemian leanings.
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Jan 22, 2011
Karalyn
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I did enjoy this book. I am only giving it three stars but I did like it. I just feel the writer was a little ego driven instead of really giving this bookstore the plug it needed at the time. I have been to this bookstore in Paris BECAUSE I read the book. I loved it. I hope all of you big reader's out there go to Shakesphere and Company if you have a chance. I recommend you read it if you are interested in the side of writing and reading that is not brought up a lot. Writers can be found
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Dec 19, 2010
Marti
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A non fiction book, this was interesting to read how one young man from Canada found out how to cope in Paris, by crashing at the famous bookstore, Shakespeare & Co. The 86 year old owner, George Whitman set things up so that while it was badly run--with volunteers who found a home away from home for short or long sojourns, it continued to be open and thrived, in a way. The lodgers are from various countries, and learn to exist on practically no money while putting up with a smelly toilet, and
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Mar 20, 2008
Meg
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This book was interesting...it gave me a different view of Paris. I liked the writing.
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Oct 19, 2007
Laura
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Appealed to my wanting to run-away-and-join-the-circus side.
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Jul 29, 2011
Karen
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I've never had particularly itchy feet but this seriously appealed to my inner bohemian, to drop everything and up sticks to Paris to join the beautiful misfits that populate the bookshop. The book's most important message comes from George, the shop's charismatic owner and walking contradiction: "People all tell me they work too much, that they need to make more money. What's the point? Why not live on as little as possible and then spend your time with your family or reading Tolstoy or
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Feb 17, 2009
penelopewanders
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As I know Shakespeare and company very well, I thought this would be an interesting read. I received it ages ago in a trade and finally put in the bathroom so that it would get read bit by bit.
At first Mercer annoyed me no end as he was indeed so typical of the rather arrogant "Paris is ours and we're the next generation of great American poets/novelists/thinkers" who I encountered at Shakespeare and company during the relatively short period I frequented it. The book did bring More...
At first Mercer annoyed me no end as he was indeed so typical of the rather arrogant "Paris is ours and we're the next generation of great American poets/novelists/thinkers" who I encountered at Shakespeare and company during the relatively short period I frequented it. The book did bring More...
Feb 09, 2012
Nesa
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Wandering through Paris's Left Bank one day, poor and unemployed, Canadian reporter Jeremy Mercer ducked into a little bookstore called Shakespeare & Co.
Mercer bought a book, and the staff invited him up for tea. Within weeks, he was living above the store, working for the proprietor, George Whitman, patron saint of the city's down-and-out writers, and immersing himself in the love affairs and low-down watering holes of the shop's makeshift staff. Time Was Soft There is the story of a More...
Mercer bought a book, and the staff invited him up for tea. Within weeks, he was living above the store, working for the proprietor, George Whitman, patron saint of the city's down-and-out writers, and immersing himself in the love affairs and low-down watering holes of the shop's makeshift staff. Time Was Soft There is the story of a More...
May 03, 2010
Sara
rated it:
A decent read. Honestly, I kept thinking that if this was a blog, I would have loved it. It would have been a great blog, but it's a not bad book. The thing that does strike me more than anything else in this book is the time taken to explain so many different people's lives before they came to the bookstore. The way things started out, the choices made, action and reaction. Almost no one in the book set out to stay at the bookstore, but it was the series of unplanned events and strings of
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Oct 07, 2009
Helen
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QUOTE: If you ever come to Paris
On a cold and rainy night
And find the Shakespeare store
It can be a welcome sight.
Because it has a motto
Something friendly and wise
Be kind to strngers
Lest they're angels in disguise.
One of the world's most famous bookshops. The original opened in 1919 and was frequented by Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Bernard Shaw, Ezra Pound, Gertr More...
On a cold and rainy night
And find the Shakespeare store
It can be a welcome sight.
Because it has a motto
Something friendly and wise
Be kind to strngers
Lest they're angels in disguise.
One of the world's most famous bookshops. The original opened in 1919 and was frequented by Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Bernard Shaw, Ezra Pound, Gertr More...
Sep 09, 2008
Larry
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As a life long reader of all things relating to James Joyce and while I recognize this book is a bit of a stretch to add to that canon, it bears a distinct relationship (albeit just in name) to the famous original bookstore "Shakespeare & Co" which was responsible for the publishing of the infamous novel "Ulysses", when no one else would touch it. That original Shakespeare & Co store is long gone (1941) but as the owner of this phoenix from the ashes book store bearing the sa
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May 25, 2008
Yosafbridg
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Jeremy Mercer tells of a bookstore unlike any other, George Whitman's Shakespeare & Co. in Paris, France. I found Time was Soft There to be a much more appealing and relatable book than An Alphabetical Life. Although, as i mentioned, Shakespeare & Company is an entirely unique store (one that serves as new and used book store, a lending library, and a kind of free hostel for struggling writers) i found many of the characters somewhat familiar and, in some ways the bookstore itself almost recogni
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