What a lovely concept! In the U.S. bookstores turned into coffee shops some years ago--kind of a reverse evolution :) I used to take my kids to the bookstore for an outing when they were very young. Slowly, I found my quiet bookstore had become quite busy with other merchandise offered for sale, and then with a coffee shop attached. The bookstore was attracting people who hadn't come to read, especially. They had come to socialize. It's a great concept, but my quiet bookstore disappeared. After that, I didn't take the kids there so much. We would to the neighborhood pond (my kids called it the dirty lake because it was quite muddy in places). For my own quiet retreat, without the kids, I'd go to the library.

Also, a question: When did they start putting designs on top of coffee? I know it's chic, but I can't adjust :))) It feels like I'm drinking desert instead of coffee.