My husband and I love to travel. Over the years, we have made a point of finding the interesting bookstores in whatever city we are in. Over Easter break, we took a trip to San Francisco and sought out City Lights Bookstore. This was our second trip to the charming shop. I was pregnant with our youngest daughter during our first trip in 1996. We had fun wandering the stacks with her this trip.

City Lights was founded in 1953 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin as a meeting place for the local literary crowd. It came to be known as a hangout for the “beatniks” and played an important role in furthering their careers by publishing their work. Today, the shop is a jumble of rooms cobbled together on three floors. I spent an hour wandering around the fiction room on the main floor and found more interesting titles than I could possibly pack into my suitcase. The international section was amazing. If you ever get a chance to spend an afternoon in San Francisco, go visit the nice people at City Lights then get an espresso at the coffee shop a few doors up.