The Three Literary Capitals of the World?

Conde Nast Traveler has chosen Berlin, Dublin and Boston as its three best cities for bookworms. They’re all worthy choices, but still, I have to ask: Was this list originally titled, “Three Best Cities for Bookworms, Not Counting Paris and London”?

How did Berlin, the city of Brecht, beat out the city of Hugo, Sartre and de Beauvoir, Moliere, Stendhal, and 350 years of salon history? (Not to mention all the English-speaking expatriate writers that have gravitated to Paris over the years.) How did Thoreau and his Massachusetts pond outrank Shakespeare, Dickens, Dr. Johnson, George Orwell and the Bloomsbury group?

I know, I know. There’s no fun in the obvious choices. But sometimes those choices are obvious for very, very good reasons.

[Via The Book Bench]

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