Whatever the cultural reasons, books in France are indeed an "essential good"--the designation coined by the French government that serves to justify the very concrete steps it has taken over the years to protect its precious literary culture. The most prominent of these are laws outlawing the advantages (deep discounting combined with free shipping) that big chains and Amazon enjoy over independent booksellers in the United States and other countries. These help explain a phenomenon that inevitably strikes American visitors to France today: As even big chains such as Borders and Barnes & Noble have faltered here, every block in central Paris seems to sprout at least two small, intelligently stocked bookshops.
Daniel Mendelsohn, The New York Times Book Review, November 16, 2014
Daniel Mendelsohn, The New York Times Book Review, November 16, 2014
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