Famous for its stained-glass ceiling, Gothic exterior and sweeping wooden staircase, Livraria Lello is globally revered as one of the world’s most beautiful bookish spaces. Since the late 1800s, the library has delighted literary lovers with its colourful selection of books and limited-edition releases, and today queues line Porto's streets just to step inside the library’s hallowed walls. This summer, Dua Lipa announced that her book club, Service95, would be collaborating with the historic Portuguese library to launch a space dedicated to banned books.

The Manifesto Library is “a shrine to books that have disappeared, to authors whose courage unmasks the structures of power and control, and to readers who refuse to be told what book they are allowed,” says a statement on Livrario Lello and Service95 Instagram accounts. The library “has been a source of inspiration for over a century,” said Dua in the announcement post. “Dreamers, radicals and artists have passed through these doors.”

The decision to launch the Manifesto Library in one of the world’s most iconic literary spaces is not incidental. Europe’s cities have long welcomed writers, authors and thinkers, creating inspirational spaces that spark curiosity and intrigue. The link between literature and travel is not new, so it feels remiss to call the recent surge in interest in books a trend, but it is undeniable that reading is cooler than ever.

Livraria Lello bookstore in Porto, Portugal

Celebrity book clubs from Reese’s Book Club, Kaia Gerber’s Library Science and Emma Roberts’ Belletrist have a combined social media following of more than four million. Fashion brands are hopping on board too, with Dior launching literature-inspired lines such as the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie-collaborated ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ T-shirt and the now-iconic Book Tote. Beyond the books, brands are tapping writers and authors as the season’s muse, from Joan Didion for Céline, Zadie Smith for Bottega, and most recently, Lost Lambs author Madeline Cash for Gap.

It was only a matter of time before bookshops around the world began to cash in on the craze. Dua Lipa’s partnership with Livraria Lello is the latest in a stream of bookish events and partnerships dominating cultural discourse on social media. Miu Miu hosted its second annual literary club in Milan in March this year. To celebrate Pride Month, Aesop's Queer Library is an annual initiative in London where the brand swaps its beauty inventory for free books by LGBTQIA+ authors.

Authors are finding creative ways to promote their work in more immersive ways that bring travel and culture together. In London, for example, fashion house Reformation hosts ‘Ref Reads’ where writers read excerpts of their latest books in the Covent Garden store, while Hatchards, London’s oldest bookshop, hosts gatherings for readers to discuss feminist literature. The inaugural Selfridges Book Club invited journalist Pandora Sykes to interview three of the most exciting literary names of the year: Madeline Cash, Stephanie Sy-Quia and Imani Thompson.

The community benefits provide a tangible reason behind this growing trend. According to Eventbrite, book club events grew by 31 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year, and these events are now heading overseas, with the recent rise in reading retreats and creative escapes only making them more popular. On social media, BookTok inspired a new wave of travel itineraries, as agencies began to tap into ways to turn online conversations into real-world experiences.

There’s also a growing universal desire to go offline. In January, Dazed deemed 2026 the year of analogue and on TikTok, #analog has 590.3 million views. Beyond the obvious irony, it’s clear people are desperate for a reason to switch off and be present – and both travel and reading are sure-fire ways to do just that. Whether you’re sprawling on a beach with a good book, curled up by a fire with an unputdownable story, or lost in the depths of a hardback as you hurtle through landscapes on a huffing train, books have the power to transport us across borders, oceans and worlds.

The rise of set-jetting – where travellers pilgrimage to the filming locations of cult movies – is also spilling into the world of books. It’s likely to grow later this year, too. We’re set to have a Jane Austen autumn with the release of Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility, which is sure to bring plenty of bookish travellers to Hampshire; the upcoming Netflix adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia is sure to introduce the story to a whole new generation of travellers, and the 100th anniversary of Winnie-The-Pooh has piqued interest in the real Hundred Acre Wood (Ashdown Forest in Sussex). As part of its 2026 travel trends report, Skyscanner revealed that 49 per cent of travellers “have booked, or would consider, a trip inspired by literature”, while “hotel bookings using our ‘library’ filter are up 70 per cent globally” versus the previous year.

Books are being restored to their natural place in society – something to be revered, consumed, and respected as a key branch of culture in today’s world, not a declining pastime. Thanks to the likes of Dua Lipa, Livraria Lello, and Aesop’s Queer Library, reading has been reinstated as an effective way to remain culturally and politically informed, and a way not just to rebel peacefully, but to experience the world’s many layers and colours, whether that's exploring independent bookshops, sitting down with a paperback at a quiet cafe, or joining a book club in a new city. “Reading and travel are intrinsically linked,” says Rebecca Sinclair, chief brand officer at Penguin Books UK, in Skyscanner's trends report. “Books inspire real-world journeys, which in turn create the space for people to lose themselves in books.”