When we first arrived in Miami about 25 years ago, new friends told us book stores couldn’t survive in this area of the country. Miamians said people who live in the land of sun and sand, just don’t read.

That may have been true then, but Miami native Mitchell Kaplan changed all that. For over 20 years, Kaplan has turned Miami into a reading town by establishing his book chain, Books & Books, as a cultural and entertainment center.

Eliot and I have built a social life around the main Books & Books in Coral Gables. We attend many of their hundreds of guest lectures a year, and often drop by for lunch or dinner in the cafe. It’s also a great place to spot all kinds of people from the creative world who rely on

Books & Books as a reliable destination to conduct research.

Watch the above video featuring Mitchell Kaplan as he gives a personal tour through his main branch. Kaplan is also the founder of the Miami Book Fair, the largest one in the country.