{"id":2655,"date":"2016-04-05T13:27:26","date_gmt":"2016-04-05T13:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mytwostotinki.com\/?p=2655"},"modified":"2016-04-05T13:33:47","modified_gmt":"2016-04-05T13:33:47","slug":"visit-to-a-bookstore-herceg-novi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mytwostotinki.com\/?p=2655","title":{"rendered":"Visit to a bookstore: Herceg Novi"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am travelling quite a lot; and I am reading quite a lot \u2013 no surprise that I visit also many bookstores while travelling. Therefore I will start here a small series with short portraits and impressions from book shops I visited and that deserve to be recommended. As you will see, I will focus mainly on small independent bookstores with a high-quality selection of books.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The excellent weather last weekend was the perfect excuse for a trip by bus from Prishtina\/Kosovo (where I am working right now in an interesting project) to the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. If you haven\u2019t been there: it is a spectacular and very beautiful place! The contrasts of the high Montenegrin mountains and the bay with its rather unique topography, the Mediterranean climate and the old towns like Kotor (also sometimes known as Cattaro), Perast, or Herceg Novi are stunning.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As usual when I visit a place, I gather some prior information on the locations I want to see (this time Herceg Novi and Perast) \u2013 and of course bookstores also belong in that category. So I was rather pleased to find a very nice independent book shop in Herceg Novi, Salt Bookstore, a family business run by Viktorija Malovi\u0107, wife of the author Nikola Malovi\u0107.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bookstore is a great place to find a small but well-curated selection of books in English and of course a high-quality selection of books in Serbian\/Montenegrin language. Salt is also a small publishing house that focuses on literature related to the history and culture of the Bay of Kotor, and all the editions Viktorija Malovi\u0107 showed me are done with greatest care and obvious devotion to the subject. One of the books from their own publishing house is Bernard Sullivan\u2019s Hiker\u2019s Guide, The Austro-Hungarian Fortresses of Montenegro<\/em>; the mountains around the Bay of Kotor are just perfect for hiking and with this guide book you will be not only always oriented where you are but you will be also informed about the many remains of forts, bunkers and other remains from the Austro-Hungarians you will come across during your hike which offers truly unforgettable views to this part of the Adria.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nikola Malovi\u0107 is a well-known Serbian novelist from Montenegro and it would be interesting to see some of his books translated in a language that is accessible to me. Since I don\u2019t read Serbian, I limited myself to buying a few books in English: David Albahari\u2019s short stories Learning Cyrillic<\/em>, Momo Kapor\u2019s collection of feuilletons A Guide to the Serbian Mentality<\/em> (with illustrations by the author), and an exhibition catalogue about Serbian literature during WWI.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bookstore is a very nice place to learn more about the Bay of Kotor, and you can find always something interesting there \u2013 so don\u2019t miss the place when you visit the Bay of Kotor. Herceg Novi, although very modest in size, even hosts a book fair and the place has always been a favourite place of many writers from the region, such as Ivo Andri\u0107. Somehow you feel that this is a place for \u201cbookish\u201d people. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now that I am thinking of it: Montenegro has recently made a major shift in its geo-political orientation: it has become a NATO member, and it is a candidate country of the EU. Montenegro has always had very close ties with Russia, and it is not by chance that the country was extremely popular among Russian tourists, which now for various political reasons seem to stay away from Montenegro. The huge gap that this is causing in the state budget, and the threat this is to the many people whose livelihood depends on tourism is a huge problem \u2013 once again the average population has to pay the prize for a political decision and it is easy to understand that EU and particularly NATO are not the most popular institutions in Montenegro right now. But this doesn\u2019t affect the people\u2019s natural hospitality and therefore I can only recommend you again very strongly a visit in this beautiful country, and particularly the Bay of Kotor.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(And no, the Montenegrin Ministry of Tourism doesn\u2019t sponsor me\u2026 ;-))<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Bernard Sullivan: The Austro-Hungarian Fortresses of Montenegro: A Hiker\u2019s Guide, Knji\u017eara So, Herceg Novi 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

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David Albahari: Learning Cyrillic, translated by Ellen Elias-Bursa\u0107, Geopoetika, Belgrade 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Momo Kapor: A Guide to the Serbian Mentality, translated by John White, Ru\u017eica White, Branimir Baki\u0107, Danira Parenta, Goran Kri\u010dkovi\u0107, Nevenka Koji\u0107, Ana Seli\u0107, and Mirjana Dragovi\u0107, Dereta, Belgrade 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nada Mirkov-Bogdanovi\u0107 \/ Milena Dordijevi\u0107: Serbian Literature in the First World War, Exhibition Catalogue, National Library of Serbia \/ National and University Library of the Republic of Srpska, Belgrade \/ Banja Luka 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Nikola Malovi\u0107: Jedro Nade, Laguna, Belgrade 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

More information on Salt Bookstore in Herceg Novi you can find\u00a0here<\/a> or on their website<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a9 <\/strong>Thomas H\u00fcbner\u00a0and mytwostotinki.com, 2014-6. Unauthorized use and\/or duplication of this material without expressed and written permission from this blog\u2019s author and\/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Thomas H\u00fcbner\u00a0and mytwostotinki.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.<\/strong><\/pre>\n
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