The capital of Taiwan, Taipei, has an intriguing diversity of nocturnal activities. For those who are over the sticky-floor, sweaty-dancing scene, Taiwan has created a new kind of nightclub, one that is more concerned with education than intoxication. Hipsters, bookworms, and night-owls searching for a different type of social gathering flock to the 24 hour, five-story book paradise the Eslite store, where patrons sip rye-and-coke while flipping ink-spotted pages. Literature brings young book enthusiasts together, their foreheads pressed into each other while they dive into different worlds.
Lucky for Canadians, our country has also experimented mixing booze and books. I’ve stumbled upon bars in Edmonton and Calgary with ceiling-high stacked shelves of decaying, leather-bound classics. I’ve folded into library chairs at 10pm on a Friday night (should I admit that?) and I’ve taken my homework to a pub. There is certainly a crowd interested in this night-time endeavour, and there is obvious room to expand. Many great authors are known for crafting their masterpieces under the influence—I wonder how long it’ll be before typewriters and blank canvas’ begin appearing in bars.
Not long, I hope.
Lucky for Canadians, our country has also experimented mixing booze and books. I’ve stumbled upon bars in Edmonton and Calgary with ceiling-high stacked shelves of decaying, leather-bound classics. I’ve folded into library chairs at 10pm on a Friday night (should I admit that?) and I’ve taken my homework to a pub. There is certainly a crowd interested in this night-time endeavour, and there is obvious room to expand. Many great authors are known for crafting their masterpieces under the influence—I wonder how long it’ll be before typewriters and blank canvas’ begin appearing in bars.
Not long, I hope.