Bookstores arc a traveler’s best friend: they provide convenient shelter in bad weather, and they often host readings and other cultural events. Here is a look at the world’s six greatest bookstores.

Adrian Harrington——since 1971.Rare books; rare first editions; leather-bound sets and general antiqucs.Address: 64A Kensington Church Street, Kensington, London, England, UK.

Another Country——Krcuzberg, Berlin, Germany. Another Country is an English language second-hand bookshop which is mostly used as a library. They have about 20,000 books that you can buy or borrow. Some regular events are held at the shop, such as readings, cultural events, social evenings and film nights.

Atlantis Books——Oia, Santorini, Greece. Atlantis Books is an’ independent bookshop on the island of Santorini, Greece, founded in 2004 by a group of friends from Cyprus, England, and the United States. Throughout the year it hosts literary festivals, film screenings, book readings, and good old-fashioned dance parties.

Bart’s Books——Ojai, California, USA. “The World’s Greatest Outdoor Bookstore”, a bookstore founded by Richard Bartinsdale in 1964. Shelves of books face the street, and regular customers are asked to drop coins into the door’s coin box to pay for any books they take whenever the store is closed.

10 Corso Como-Milan, Italy. Extensive selection of publication on art, architecture, design, graphics and fashion, along with a strong emphasis on photography. It was founded in 1990 in Milan, Italy, by Carla Sozzani.

The Bookworm——A bookshop, library par, restaurant and event space, now with five locations in three cities in China-Beijing, Suzhou and Chengdu. The interconnecting rooms with floor-to-ceiling books on every wall are light and airy in summer, yet warm and comfortable in winter.

I am a person who has always loved reading. For me, it is easy to get lost in a book and return to the world a couple of hours later having been on an adventure. As a 6-year-old, I could be found reading Harry Potter, a difficult book for a 6-year-old but I enjoyed it all the same. Now, as a student, it is harder to find the time to read books for pleasure; however, I relish the summers where I have the time to read to satisfy myself. Growing up, it soon became clear that spelling for me was not difficult and I had a wide vocabulary. This is because I began reading from such a young age.

My advice for you as English learners would be to read the books that you have often read in your own language in English. Reading, stories especially, is a great way of improving your vocabulary and spelling without noticing as you are lost in the story. For me, I have read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in French and am currently reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Spanish. This is a really useful way of being able to read in another language because I know the story so well in English, it is easy to follow the story in the foreign language even if I do not understand every word.

This is another important point: it is not necessary to understand every word. If you understand the meaning of the sentence, each word is not necessarily important. Sometimes it is impossible to translate directly from one language to another. Quite often, if a word is used several times in a text, you can gain your own meaning from it and it makes much more sense than if you tried to translate it in the first place.

Give it a try. If you like reading you could be opening up a whole new world of literature.

The day I heard that Rainbow Bookstore was closing after 50 years of business, I was heartbroken. The bookstore, which was a landmark in the neighbourhood, was a place where anyone could drop in and read books.

When I hurried to the store, I saw that the books were already packed into boxes. I had a long chat with Casey, the store’s elderly owner. Sighing deeply, he told me how it was becoming difficult to run his bookstore. Most young people preferred reading e-books on tablets and more customers were attracted by low price of online stores. I tried to think of some words to comfort him, but I knew Rainbow Bookstore couldn't stay in business much longer.

A few months later, I was back in the neighbourhood during my spring break and was surprised to see that the bookstore was still there and opened for business. Its old brick walls hadn't been decorated, but inside it was like a different world.

I was told that the community had decided to work together on a program to save Rainbow Bookstore. The program was led by Jennifer Oakley, a saleswoman who had grown up in the neighbourhood and who had now taken over the bookstore from Casey. Under Jennifer's leadership, the bookstore was being turned into a place for literature-loving members of the community to get together. It had a cafe selling food and there were now more community events such as book readings, poetry recitings and even jazz concerts and movie nights, where people could gather to share an experience that couldn't be downloaded online.

I also met old Casey, who was looking up at readers' comments that kept popping up on the screen. "I remember readers' comments used to appear on a big board here.” I pointed at the comer. Casey smiled, "Well, as you can see, business knowledge combined with creativity has brought my old bookstore into the 21st century! I'm so pleased to see that everything I wanted to offer to the community is still here."