Authors from across the globe attended the bookstore’s 10th Bookworm Literary Festival in March, including North Korean defector and activist Hyeonseo Lee. (Photo : Beijing Bookworm)
Anyone want a couple of classic English muffins? How about pan-fried rosemary potatoes? Anyone can also choose from coffee--Americano, cappuccino, espresso, latte, macchiato-- fresh fruit juice, or--for those of legal age--cocktails, whiskey or gin to go with their meal.
And to top it off, how about a book?
The Bookworm feeds both the body and the mind seven days a week from 9 a.m. until midnight--extending one hour more on weekends for those bookworms who simply can’t get enough.
Irish Peter Goff and friend Alexandra Pearson, who went back to the U.K. in 2013, founded the bookstore cum café-bar restaurant in 2006 in Beijing.
Lonely Planet listed it at number seven among its top 10 picks of the world’s greatest bookshops for its “Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2011.”
The partners opened two more branches: one in Chengdu in 2006 and another one the following year in Suzhou.
In an interview with Chengdu Living in 2013, recalling the early days of Bookworm, Goff called it “a fun project, a home from home.”
Goff said that they generally bought the books in America, the U.K., Canada and Ireland.
The Bookworm started with 2,000 books all owned by Pearson, according to Gadling.
“At the last count,” the bookstore’s website said, “we were able to boast 16,112 titles on our library shelves.”
Goff has been working as Bookworm’s general manager since May 2006, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“The Chengdu Bookworm is a refuge for expats that love books, camaraderie and epicures. It is my home away from home when I’m there,” said one patron on the LinkedIn page of Goff.
Another testimony reads: “Peter runs one of the most hospitable venues in China. The bookworm is warm, friendly . . . always busy, always [have] interesting activities with nice literary and musical undercurrent.”
The bookstore also organizes an annual gathering of lovers of the printed word.
Coming from 30 countries, nearly 180 writers and intellectuals participated in the 10th Bookworm Literary Festival, “a celebration of literature and ideas,” held from March 11-27, according to its website.
“The Beijing Bookworm literary festival offers a chance to explore the limits to criticism in the People's Republic,” said journalist and author Paul Anderson in an article at Little Atoms.
Some 300 events highlighted this year’s celebration. The event involved, among others, a writing workshop, book talks and activities for children.
“I think the world would be a better place if people read more,” said Goff, according to China Daily.
The former journalist said to Chengdu Living that his favorite book related to the country is Paul French’s New York Times bestseller, “Midnight in Peking,” a true story about the 19-year-old British Pamela Werner murdered in Jan. 1937.
Was the case ever solved? Perhaps a copy is tucked away on one of the shelves of the Bookworm.
Visit and enjoy the books--and the food.
