Globe Corner Blogs

Whenever Portland, Oregon has come up in conversation, which was more frequently than I’d expect given my proximity to the other Portland (the one in Maine), I hear raves. To me, Portland has become synonymous with, “I think you’d love it there,” and, “It’s the perfect city!” Within the last year, two of my co-workers went, and it’s become a mini-mecca for a certain eco-minded set of college grads. Could Portland really be that awesome? Would I forever deride the overcrowded, sprawling cityscape of New York City at first sight of Mt. Hood, Powell’s bookstore, and Stumptown coffee?

After spending just three nights and two full days in Portland, I understood the appeal:  copper-fixtured drinking fountains lined the streets, delicious gourmet food carts every few blocks, microbrewery happy hours, and a completely efficient public transportation system. And, while I didn’t up and leave New York City, I had quite a great time in the Bridge City. Read on for some tips and highlights from my trip: Continue Reading »

Abaco Libros y Cafe -- photo by Pat

Where do bookstore workers always go when they’re on vacation? Other bookstores. So when the owners of The Globe Corner Bookstore attended The Hay Literary Festival in Cartageña de Indias, Colombia, Pat Carrier visited Ábaco Libros y Café. He was lucky enough to chat with an owner there and write an article about it for Publishers Weekly. Here is a snippet:

Abaco Libros bookmark

“A highlight of my attendance last year was observing the bustling energy of Ábaco Libros y Café, a small literary bookstore and cafe in the heart of the walled city of Cartageña. The store is near the Theater Heredia, the main venue of the festival—and not so coincidentally near the home of Gabriel García Márquez, the spiritual godfather of the Latin American literary world affectionately known here as Gabo. Throughout the festival weekend, the bookstore was packed with attendees rushing in to buy the next speaker’s books; and its cafe tables were filled with international press interviewing festival writers and drinking café con leche.

This year, I was determined to find out more about bookselling in Colombia. Interviewing one of the two business partners in Ábaco Libros seemed a good start. Néstor Rimoli kindly agreed to such an interview during one of their busiest weekends of the year. “