Readers craving for books in the middle of the night can get a quick fix at one of the French capital’s five newly installed book vending machines.
‘We have customers who know exactly what they want and come at all hours to get it,’ said Xavier Chambon, president of Maxi-Livres, a low-cost publisher and book store chain that debuted the vending machines in June.
It’s as if our stores were open 24 hours a day.
Stocked with 25 best-selling titles, the machines cover the gamut of literary genres and tastes. Regardless of whether they fall into the category of high culture or low, all books cost a modest $2.45.
| Category | Examples | Why It Sold |
|---|---|---|
| Classics | Homer’s The Odyssey, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) | Nostalgic fixes for cultured Parisians. |
| Practical Guides | 100 Delicious Couscous Recipes, The Wok Cookbook, French-English Dictionary, Verb Conjugations | Top sellers—everyday essentials for expats, cooks, and students. |
| Contemporary | Modern bestsellers (varied by stock rotation) | Quick reads for Metro rides. |
Chambon noted the dictionary and wok book as surprise hits, proving utility trumped poetry in a pinch.
Impact and Legacy
The launch sparked global buzz—covered by The Guardian and TODAY—positioning France as a vending innovator (joining baguettes and crepes in automated glory).
