10 bookstores built in strange places around the world, from boats to bank vaults

Matthew WilsonAug 7, 2020, 19:54 IST

Zhongshuge Bookstore.VCG/Getty Images

August 9 is National Book Lovers Day.
Bookstores around the world have been built in some pretty odd places, such as former bomb shelters, bank vaults, and barges.
One bookstore was even built in an abandoned house in the middle of a paddy field in China.

Bookstores come in all shapes and sizes. Some are large, some small ... and some are located on barges or inside bank vaults.

If you're looking to buy something new to read, why not explore stores as imaginative as the books they sell?

To get you in the mood for National Book Lovers Day on August 9, here are bookstores located in unexpected places around the world.

The Paddy Field Bookstore is located in an abandoned house on a paddy field in Xiadi, China.

The Paddy Field Bookstore. Chen Hao

The bookstore stocks over 7,500 titles ranging from art to social sciences. It also has a cafe that overlooks the paddy fields and the village.

The Paddy Field Bookstore. Chen Hao

This boat in London has been turned into a floating bookstore called Words on the Water.

Words on the Water. Sam Mellish/Getty Images

During the winter months, the inside of the barge offers a refuge from the frigid wind and low temperatures.

Inside Words on the Water. Sam Mellish/Getty Images

El Ateneo Grand Splendid is inside a historic theater in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid. Ricardo Ceppi/Getty Images

The building was in danger of being torn down before it became a bookstore.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid. Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The Last Bookstore, in Los Angeles, is housed in a former bank. The piles of cash have been replaced by piles of books.

The Last Bookstore. 1000Photography/Shutterstock

Remnants of the bank's architecture still remain in the store.

The Last Bookstore. Carlos Gandiaga/Shutterstock

Munro's Books, the largest independent bookstore in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, is also located inside a former bank.

Munro's Books. Roshan_NG/Shutterstock

Before it was a bookstore called Librairie Avant-Garde, this building in Nanjing, China, was used as a bomb shelter and government parking lot.

Librairie Avant-Garde. Zhang Peng/Getty Images

The bookstore specializes in religious texts, reflecting the owner's own faith.

Librairie Avant-Garde. Zhang Peng/Getty Images

Libreria Acqua Alta in Venice, Italy, is one of the few bookstores in the world where you should bring rain boots because it frequently floods.

Libreria Acqua Alta. John Walton - PA Images/Getty Images

This 700-year-old Gothic church is now home to the bookstore Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht, Netherlands.

Selexyz Dominicanen. gumbao/Shutterstock

Atlantis Books was built in a cave house in Santorini, Greece, after two English college students got drunk on holiday and decided to open a bookstore there.

Atlantis Books. Ventura/Shutterstock

Located in Chongqing, China, the Zhongshuge Bookstore is a labyrinth of stairs and mirrors.

Zhongshuge Bookstore. VCG/Getty Images

When buying that first home, it's important to think about what furniture is worth investing in

Cookies on the Business Insider India website