Read Your Way Through Buenos Aires
For Dreaming of: The city with the most bookstores.
Article and Books
Perhaps the world's utmost authority on book reviews, The New York Times has a rather good selection of books to accompany all the stages of your trip to the Argentine capital.
Indeed, Buenos Aires is a book lover's city. Not only are its streets a naturally romantic setting for stories, it has some fantastic bookstores and libraries to puruse. In fact, it has the greatest number of bookstores per capita in the world. Two favorites:
El Ateneo Grand Splendid - a 19th century theater turned bookstore
Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno - a relic of architectural brutalism
While we share the full NYT story below, here are a few of their selections:
Optic Nerve, by María Gainza, translated by Thomas Bunstead, is a good guide for any visitor who wants to wander through neighborhoods and art museums while bumping into all kinds of ideas and cultural references.
Tour one of the city’s most traditional high schools with a historical perspective on the 1980s in Martín Kohan’s School for Patriots, translated by Nick Caistor.
If you want to travel through time, turn to Antonio di Benedetto’s novel Zama, translated by Esther Allen, which is ideal for taking a deep dive into northern Argentina during the 17th century, in the midst of Spanish colonization. [The New Yorker called this 'a neglected South American Masterpiece.']
Click here for the full New York Times article and list of readings.
Photo Source: New York Times
Syllogi’s ‘Musings’ is a series helping you paint a picture of a destination while traveling from your living room. From relevant books and articles, inspiring movies and tv shows, to songs and even treats and dishes, our goal is to curate a sensory experience that will prepare you for an upcoming trip, reminiscence on adventures past, or simply to envision a place that exists in your bucket list fantasies.
