Leading the rebels is Libreria Books in London’s East End, which is a Wi-Fi- and coffee-free zone. Until recently, the trend for barista-made coffee and high-speed Wi-Fi was considered by some in the city’s bookish crowd to be ruining London’s centuries-old tradition of disconnected browsing. Often it’s the quaint, old-fashioned bookshops that provide the perfect excuse to browse uninterrupted and to disconnect from the world. “You wouldn’t even dare ask for the Wi-Fi code here,” a customer there said recently. And in countering the internet overload, some stores are proving to be among London’s hottest hangouts.

Source: New York Times August 09, 2016 11:37 UTC