DPP Day 2: Under the Winding Bookstair

Edinburgh is pretty well known for its "closes," or steep stairs and alleyways that link some of its higher streets with some of the lower ones. I've heard that many of the current streets were built directly on top of previous byways (some of which can now be accessed during tours), but many other less eerie and touristy places have buildings whose doorways are far below street level (and many of the closes in the old town are now just shortcuts for travelers and residents alike, providing an excellent quick workout on the way as well).

I discovered this bookstore on my first full day as a resident of Edinburgh, after learning to my great chagrin that the bookstore much closer to our home only sells paperbacks, and mostly contemporary fiction (I'm not opposed to either paperbacks or contemporary fiction, but tend to obtain both of these from libraries rather than bookstores as much as possible). This one, however, has a splendid selection of old, beautiful, and worthwhile novels in a broad variety of genres; it's also cosily tucked into, almost under, the sidewalk, which I find pretty splendid; only the "BOOKS" sign on the right side of this photograph actually helps me find it when I'm off to look for a book (or two, or ten).

Oh, books . . . never enough money to buy them all, never enough time to read them all . . .