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In an age when the unceasing invention of digital gadgets¹ is encroaching on the enjoyment² of reading paper books, there’s a small town in the UK sticking to the old tradition. Internationally renowned³ as the “Town of Books”, Hay-on-Wye in Wales is literally⁴ piled with used books, from recently published titles to second-hand⁵ books dating back 300 years.

Hay-on-Wye in Wales is internationally renowned as the “Town of Books”.

Named after its former owner Richard Booth, this 200-year-old wooden structure is arguably the world’s largest second-hand bookshop.

The story began in the early 1960s when Richard Booth graduated from the University of Oxford⁶. He decided⁷ to come back to his hometown, determined⁸ to find a trade that could save this small rural economy.

With capital of 600 pounds, he bought this building, where he began to sell his small collection of used books.

“There’re people who loved the wisdom in 700 years of the book, so people do not wish to leave the traditional wisdom of the past, and everywhere in the world, book towns are opening,” Booth said.

Having opened the first book shop in the town, Richard Booth began distributing used books to his countrymen who were unemployed⁹ or laid off, and helped them open their own businesses.

By the 1970s, Hay had become internationally known as the "Town of Books", a reader’s mecca that attracts travelers from all over the world. Many loyal customers are willing to travel great distances to visit the town, just for the pleasure of book reading.

"Because there're so many books. What's not to like about books? It's a window into other people's lives and worlds," a reader said.

But even though the whole town relies on the book trade for a living, merchants here say the business is far from lucrative¹⁰.

With a population of less than 2,000, Hay-on-Wye is densely¹¹ dotted with more than 30 bookstores, focusing on everything from children’s books to detective fiction. Spilling over with thousands of titles, book lovers are guaranteed to find what they are looking for at this bibliophile’s paradise.