Poetries from the Bookstores: Somewhere I Belong

Testimonies from passionate proprietors reveal the diversity of Taiwan’s independent bookshops, all with a distinct style and flair. Centring on the most human aspects of each, Hou Chi-jan’s documentary reinvigorates a love for these charming establishments as a second home.

At the intersection of intellectual spirit and a desire for genuine human connection lies Taiwan’s welcoming bookstore culture. Shops are places to browse texts as well as havens for reflection, discovery and connection; here, interests are traded, tea is shared and furry friends cohabit. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether the stores are neatly inventoried or a creative mishmash of items; the warmth and the familiar scent emanate from every hand-picked book placed gently on a shelf.

In Poetries from the Bookstores: Somewhere I Belong, Taipei-based filmmaker Hou Chi-jan combines 15 short vignettes of independent bookshops across Taiwan, part of his broader 2013–2024 project documenting 120 shops. Hou captures the bookstore not only as a physical marketplace, but also as a community space and even a state of mind. Passionate shop owners invite us into their little corner of the universe, sharing how their bookstores are intertwined with the presence of nature, traditions or loved ones. Poetries from the Bookstores showcases the beauty of third spaces as well as the small joys that lie within and between our beloved books.

– Olivia Popp

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