With a dreamy, far off look...

Selexyz Bookstore, Maastricht, Holland.

Rest of the beautiful bookstores around the world can be found here: http://flavorwire.com/254434/the-20-most-beautiful-bookstores-in-the-world#17 

Teresa of Avila wrote Interior Castle as a way to explain her theory about the soul. I have to admit, the idea of the soul being a castle shaped crystal housing seven mansions inside is pretty cool. The imagery of the soul-crystal darkening after being touched by Lucifer was striking as well. As a person who never fully understood the mystic branches of the Abrahamic faiths, I found the mysticism offered here is fairly accessible. However, the multiple comparisons of disabled individuals to a sinner or a person not reaching their full spiritual potential was beyond gross. Yes, I am fully aware this text was written in the sixteenth century, but that doesn't excuse the ableist language (or dashes of internalized misogyny). It never ceases to amaze me how many Christian works blatantly go against the tolerance Christ preached. 1.5 out of 5 stars

"To His Excellency Sr. Henry Moore, Bart., captain general and governour in chief, in & over the Province of New York & the territories depending thereon in America, chancellor & vice admiral of the same, this plan of the city of New York, is most humbly inscribed" (1776)

From the introduction:

"The New York Public Library have made available online, free from all restrictions, high resolution copies of more than 20,000 historic maps. Containing maps from the 16th through to the early 20th century, the collection focuses mainly on the United States, particularly New York, but also features maps from other countries. The images of Manhattan and surrounding boroughs offer a fascinating snapshot of the development of one of the most densely populated areas in the world. The maps can be viewed through the New York Public Library’s Digital Collections page, and downloaded, through the Map Warper – a wonderful project which aims to make historic maps viewable as overlays on modern maps."

Central Park (1863)

For some reason it has been increasingly difficult for me to find books where the main relationship for the teenage female protagonist is not a goddamn all-consuming romance. Not that I'm saying that romance is bad, because it can be wonderful, but I was just getting sick of that type of book, especially after hearing old classmates exasperating about their publishers forcing them to shoehorn it in their manuscripts (like what happened with The Hunger Games trilogy). Thankfully, Tell the Wolves I'm Home fell into my lap.
 
Tell the Wolves I'm Home tells the story of fourteen year old June Elbus, a girl who just wants to wear her boots in the woods and pretend she is in the middle ages, and how her life is altered once her favorite person, her Uncle Finn, succumbs from AIDS in 1987. After Finn dies June meets Toby, her uncle's boyfriend of nearly ten years that she never knew he had, and tries to keep their growing friendship clandestine from her family. Carol Rifka Brunt brilliantly tackles the complexities of the relationships June has with the people in her life, how they can change in equally wonderful and terrible ways. For me, the stand out relationship examined is the one between June and her big sister Greta, who is hurting just as much as June, but for different reasons. It is a testament to Brunt that she never shied away from letting Greta be just as complicated as June, instead of just staying the flat "Mean Big Sister" trope, which as the older sister in my own family I deeply appreciate.

This book made me ache with nostalgia, not for the setting (I wasn't even born yet) but at the memory of losing certain parts of yourself that happens with growing up, or how learning one thing about a person can change the way you view her forever. Tell the Wolves I'm Home is a stunning read, and if you can deal with the aches, you'll find yourself seeing the beauty through the pain, just like sunshine after the rain. 5 out of 5 stars.

Absolutely fantastic writing and artwork, just as expected after a phenomenal first issue. Once again Wilson tackles multiple themes such as being a child of immigrants, growing up Muslim in a community with little understanding of Islam, and western beauty ideals by weaving them together forming Kamala's own tapestry of her identity. As if these weren't enough threads, Kamala finds herself with a new thread of emerged shape-shifting superpowers, which definitely aren't as fun or liberating as she imagined, and before she is finished processing this she has to decide if she should save the ignorant Zoe or let her drown. It is this decision which tells us readers exactly what kind of person Kamala is, even if she herself hasn't quite figured it out yet. 5 out of 5 stars.