美國知名藝文網站Flavorwire，今年2月選出全球20間最美麗的書店，名列榜單上的書店，有的是從歌劇院改造，有的前身是大教堂，有的甚至把希臘神殿式的巨大石柱擺進店裡。
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台灣唯一獲選的是位在台北市東區巷弄（忠孝東路四段188巷）內，只有13坪大的「好樣本事」。網站形容它：「實用又充滿懷舊的優雅，一如我們理想之船的船艙。」藏身狹小巷弄間的小書店，如何成為世界最美麗的書店之一？
In January 2012, New-York-based arts and culture website Flavorwire compiled a list of “The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World.” On the list were a converted movie theatre, a converted Dominican church, and one bookstore sporting massive Greek-style pillars.
Taiwan’s sole representative on the list was a 50-square-meter bookstore nestled in the alleys of Taipei City’s east district, of which Flavorwire wrote “almost utilitarian but filled with simple old-world grace, [VVG Something] is a little like what we might imagine our ideal ship’s main cabin to look like.” But how could a little store secreted away in a tiny alleyway be one of the world’s most beautiful bookstores?
車水馬龍的台北街頭，人擠人的東區街道，習慣快節奏生活的台北人，踏進好樣本事的那一刻，彷彿一切都慢了下來……
13坪大的空間內，堆滿了書店主人汪麗琴從世界各地收集回來的書籍和手工藝品，讓人忍不住翻看把玩，樂活一整個下午。
For residents of Taipei, accustomed to the city’s fast pace, crowded spaces, and constant traffic, stepping into VVG Something can feel like the world around has come screeching to a halt.
With just 50 square meters to work with, owner Grace Wang has created a space full of books and crafts collected from around the world, one where people can’t help but flip through a few books and while away an afternoon in peace and quiet.
In January 2012, New-York-based arts and culture website Flavorwire compiled a list of “The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World.” On the list were a converted movie theatre, a converted Dominican church, and one bookstore sporting massive Greek-style pillars.
Taiwan’s sole representative on the list was a 50-square-meter bookstore nestled in the alleys of Taipei City’s east district, of which Flavorwire wrote “almost utilitarian but filled with simple old-world grace, [VVG Something] is a little like what we might imagine our ideal ship’s main cabin to look like.” But how could a little store secreted away in a tiny alleyway be one of the world’s most beautiful bookstores?
車水馬龍的台北街頭，人擠人的東區街道，習慣快節奏生活的台北人，踏進好樣本事的那一刻，彷彿一切都慢了下來……
13坪大的空間內，堆滿了書店主人汪麗琴從世界各地收集回來的書籍和手工藝品，讓人忍不住翻看把玩，樂活一整個下午。
For residents of Taipei, accustomed to the city’s fast pace, crowded spaces, and constant traffic, stepping into VVG Something can feel like the world around has come screeching to a halt.
With just 50 square meters to work with, owner Grace Wang has created a space full of books and crafts collected from around the world, one where people can’t help but flip through a few books and while away an afternoon in peace and quiet.
點石成金的本事
The Midas touch
開西餐廳起家的汪麗琴，原本是把這裡當做倉庫，用來堆放餐廳器皿和雜物。熱愛讀書和旅行的她，每次出國總會帶回各式各樣紀念品和書刊雜誌，倉庫裡的東西也越堆越多。兩年多前（2009年），她心血來潮，決定展售長久以來收集的大量藏書，並搭配其他收藏品來做擺設。
Wang, who got her start running her own restaurant, originally used this space as a storeroom, packing it full of restaurant-related odds, ends, and equipment. A lover of both books and travel, whenever Wang goes abroad she brings back all kinds of souvenirs, books, and magazines, and over time these piled up in her storeroom. In 2009 she decided on a whim to start selling the massive stack of books she’d accumulated, and to display them alongside her collected artworks.
汪麗琴的藏書以外國食譜、攝影集、設計美學刊物和時尚雜誌為主；收藏品則是五花八門，從廢棄不用的老窗戶、銅製的古董收銀機，到手工製造的鍋鏟，無奇不有。巧妙結合各種天馬行空的元素，「倉庫」搖身一變，成為現在的好樣本事。
Her book collection is mostly built around foreign cookbooks, photo collections, books on design, and fashion magazines; while her art collection is more varied, including everything from old windows through antique copper cash registers to handmade spatulas—nothing is too weird for Wang. Through this combination of imaginative oddities, the storeroom gradually began to transform into what is now known as VVG Something.
汪麗琴說，她只是做成自己喜歡的樣子，自然就吸引有相同喜好的人前來；而跨界開書店並非為了賺錢，而是為了分享她的收藏。
“I just wanted to make a place I liked, that would naturally draw in like-minded people,” says Wang. Moving from restaurateur to bookstore owner wasn’t something she did for the money, but rather in order to share her beloved collection.
老式脫水機、收銀機、鐵製熨斗、舊式打字機，這些已經用不到的古董，是店裡的擺設，也是商品，透過精心設計的布置，營造出一個溫暖、讓人流連忘返的空間。
每樣擺設都有一段故事，以擺在店正中央的松木長桌來說，購自一個韓國朋友，但因體積太大，且結構不穩，不好運送，一直閒置在美國；決定要開書店時，想到這張桌子很適合擺書，才設法從美國運回。「放進來以後，感覺這張桌子就是為了這個書店而造的，」汪麗琴說。
汪麗琴的藏書以外國食譜、攝影集、設計美學刊物和時尚雜誌為主；收藏品則是五花八門，從廢棄不用的老窗戶、銅製的古董收銀機，到手工製造的鍋鏟，無奇不有。巧妙結合各種天馬行空的元素，「倉庫」搖身一變，成為現在的好樣本事。
Her book collection is mostly built around foreign cookbooks, photo collections, books on design, and fashion magazines; while her art collection is more varied, including everything from old windows through antique copper cash registers to handmade spatulas—nothing is too weird for Wang. Through this combination of imaginative oddities, the storeroom gradually began to transform into what is now known as VVG Something.
汪麗琴說，她只是做成自己喜歡的樣子，自然就吸引有相同喜好的人前來；而跨界開書店並非為了賺錢，而是為了分享她的收藏。
“I just wanted to make a place I liked, that would naturally draw in like-minded people,” says Wang. Moving from restaurateur to bookstore owner wasn’t something she did for the money, but rather in order to share her beloved collection.
老式脫水機、收銀機、鐵製熨斗、舊式打字機，這些已經用不到的古董，是店裡的擺設，也是商品，透過精心設計的布置，營造出一個溫暖、讓人流連忘返的空間。
每樣擺設都有一段故事，以擺在店正中央的松木長桌來說，購自一個韓國朋友，但因體積太大，且結構不穩，不好運送，一直閒置在美國；決定要開書店時，想到這張桌子很適合擺書，才設法從美國運回。「放進來以後，感覺這張桌子就是為了這個書店而造的，」汪麗琴說。
An old clothes wringer, a cash register, an iron-made clothes iron, an old typewriter... such unusable antiques are transformed into display ornaments in the store. All have been carefully arranged to create an air of warmth and comfort, and Wang is very much satisfied with the result—a place people can walk into and totally lose track of time.
Each display item has its own story—the pine table in the center of the store, for example, came from a Korean friend who had had to leave it in storage in the US because of its size and wonky construction, as well as the difficulty involved in transporting it. When she had the idea of setting up a bookstore, she realized that table would be perfect, and organized to have it shipped from the US. “Once I brought it in, it felt like it had been made to be put in a bookstore,” says Wang.
既然是書店，店裡的主角當然是書。汪麗琴談起書來滔滔不絕，雖然現在網路閱讀風氣盛行，但她認為實體書本仍是網路無法取代的存在。
「拿到一本書，聞到書香，聞到紙張的味道，細看整本書的設計，是一種享受。」汪麗琴說，一本書的用紙、印刷、特殊的字體和版面設計，都是設計者的巧思，「每本書都結合了五感，是網路體驗不到的。」
Yet for all the curios on display, the true heart of VVG Something is its books. A long-time bookworm, once she starts talking about books it can be hard to get Wang to stop. While these days consumers are all about ebooks and reading online, she still feels there’s something irreplaceable about physical books.
“It’s an amazing feeling picking up a book, getting the smell of the paper and seeing its design,” she says. The paper, the printing, the font, the layout... everything about a book is a design choice; “Physical books engage all five senses, which is something ebooks just can’t do.”
特色藏書充滿驚奇
店內的藏書頗具特色，多是在一般大書店不容易找到的書，像是法國Marabout出版社以各種常用食材為主題的一套食譜，它把每一種食材製成一本小冊，可以快速提供料理靈感，並且還附上食材造型的小書籤，讓讀者可以方便查找，非常有創意。
Each display item has its own story—the pine table in the center of the store, for example, came from a Korean friend who had had to leave it in storage in the US because of its size and wonky construction, as well as the difficulty involved in transporting it. When she had the idea of setting up a bookstore, she realized that table would be perfect, and organized to have it shipped from the US. “Once I brought it in, it felt like it had been made to be put in a bookstore,” says Wang.
既然是書店，店裡的主角當然是書。汪麗琴談起書來滔滔不絕，雖然現在網路閱讀風氣盛行，但她認為實體書本仍是網路無法取代的存在。
「拿到一本書，聞到書香，聞到紙張的味道，細看整本書的設計，是一種享受。」汪麗琴說，一本書的用紙、印刷、特殊的字體和版面設計，都是設計者的巧思，「每本書都結合了五感，是網路體驗不到的。」
Yet for all the curios on display, the true heart of VVG Something is its books. A long-time bookworm, once she starts talking about books it can be hard to get Wang to stop. While these days consumers are all about ebooks and reading online, she still feels there’s something irreplaceable about physical books.
“It’s an amazing feeling picking up a book, getting the smell of the paper and seeing its design,” she says. The paper, the printing, the font, the layout... everything about a book is a design choice; “Physical books engage all five senses, which is something ebooks just can’t do.”
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特色藏書充滿驚奇
An unusual book collection
店內的藏書頗具特色，多是在一般大書店不容易找到的書，像是法國Marabout出版社以各種常用食材為主題的一套食譜，它把每一種食材製成一本小冊，可以快速提供料理靈感，並且還附上食材造型的小書籤，讓讀者可以方便查找，非常有創意。
VVG Something also has books that are hard, if not impossible, to find in regular bookstores in Taiwan. For instance, there is a French cookbook that, by using ingredient-themed bookmarks, helps readers find both recipes and inspiration quickly and creatively, and groups those recipes by main ingredient into convenient mini-books.
還有日本的收藏品雜誌《ナチュリラ》，每期會介紹各種家庭主婦的時尚生活精品，像是手工打造的「野田」琺瑯水壺，被視為咖啡愛好者的必備品。
Or Japanese collectibles magazine Naturela, which each issue covers carefully selected products, like handcrafted enamel kettles, considered must-haves for any coffee lover.
「書可以提供人靈感，可以啟動腦內的想法。」汪麗琴經常鼓勵餐廳員工來店裡看書，希望能藉此激發員工創意，並運用到烹飪上，進而創作出更有特色的料理。
“Books can inspire people and spark ideas,” says Wang. She encourages her restaurant staff to visit the store and read a few books, hoping this will ignite creative ideas for their cooking.
She has recently been planning to bring in the latest issue of Visionaire, a fashion and art magazine from the UK which is published three times a year in limited quantities, includes work from famous designers around the world, and is released in distinctive designs each issue.
最近她正計畫引進的新書，是最新一期的英國時尚藝術雜誌《Visionaire》，他們與國際知名設計師合作，為每期雜誌製作特殊設計，每年固定出版３期，並且限量發行。
店內擺放的幾本前幾期作品，一件是以木盒包裝的攝影集，另一件則是用兩條皮帶加上提把，以小學生書包為概念去製作的套書，都非常有特色。而最近一期的雜誌，收藏版竟然長達180公分，標準版也有100公分長，是目前世界上最大的雜誌，因為實在太大，代理商不願意進口，她目前還在努力設法，要把這本書納進書店。
還有日本的收藏品雜誌《ナチュリラ》，每期會介紹各種家庭主婦的時尚生活精品，像是手工打造的「野田」琺瑯水壺，被視為咖啡愛好者的必備品。
Or Japanese collectibles magazine Naturela, which each issue covers carefully selected products, like handcrafted enamel kettles, considered must-haves for any coffee lover.
「書可以提供人靈感，可以啟動腦內的想法。」汪麗琴經常鼓勵餐廳員工來店裡看書，希望能藉此激發員工創意，並運用到烹飪上，進而創作出更有特色的料理。
“Books can inspire people and spark ideas,” says Wang. She encourages her restaurant staff to visit the store and read a few books, hoping this will ignite creative ideas for their cooking.
She has recently been planning to bring in the latest issue of Visionaire, a fashion and art magazine from the UK which is published three times a year in limited quantities, includes work from famous designers around the world, and is released in distinctive designs each issue.
最近她正計畫引進的新書，是最新一期的英國時尚藝術雜誌《Visionaire》，他們與國際知名設計師合作，為每期雜誌製作特殊設計，每年固定出版３期，並且限量發行。
店內擺放的幾本前幾期作品，一件是以木盒包裝的攝影集，另一件則是用兩條皮帶加上提把，以小學生書包為概念去製作的套書，都非常有特色。而最近一期的雜誌，收藏版竟然長達180公分，標準版也有100公分長，是目前世界上最大的雜誌，因為實在太大，代理商不願意進口，她目前還在努力設法，要把這本書納進書店。
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VVG Something already has several previous issues of the magazine, including one that is a collection of photographs packaged in a wooden box, and one made to look like a child’s book-bag, complete with two leather carrying straps. It is truly an unusual sight. The latest issue is a collector’s edition 180 centimeters long, compared with the 100-cm-long regular edition, which makes it the world’s largest magazine. Because of its size, the company Wang usually works with to bring magazines into Taiwan has refused, and she is currently working hard to find a way to make it part of the VVG Something collection.
店內也有小部分在設計、裝禎、印刷方面極具特色的中文書，都是她精挑細選的。
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像台灣設計師何佳興的作品──《心經‧經心：現代藝術經本》，作者將每天抄寫《心經》的心得，加上巧思設計，封面採用白色半透明日本紙，內頁搭配溫暖的紀州色紙，凸顯《心經》觀字觀心、由濁返清的意境；全書手寫加上巧妙留白，傳遞出中文字獨有的感動，使看似平凡的《心經》重新獲得讀者關注。
汪麗琴認為，書本除了文字、圖片外，透過好的設計和編排，也能讓傳統文字釋放出新的生命力。
For example, there is Taiwanese designer Ho Chia-hsing’s The Heart Sutra, From the Heart: A Modern, Artistic Sutra. Taking the writings of two Buddhist masters, Ho has designed a book that uses a semi-transparent rice-paper cover and colored kishu-paper pages to create a physical representation of this spiritual text. On top of this, by working with a calligrapher, he uses the flowing nature of Chinese calligraphy to bring new attention to this old work.
As Wang says, books are about more than just words and pictures—through good design and layout, they can bring ancient texts back to vibrant life.
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堅持自我，成就風格
To thine own self be true
打造好樣本事，是一個很自然的過程，用心，卻不刻意。沒有藍圖和範本，但每個物品、每本書的擺設方式，汪麗琴都非常講究。
The creation of VVG Something was a natural process, with Wang following her heart throughout. While she had no blueprints to speak of, Wang nonetheless thought long and hard about where every item and every book should go.
好樣本事也提供咖啡和座位，讓讀者看書的同時，也能享受咖啡香。
VVG Something doesn’t just provide books and trinkets, but also coffee and seating, giving guests a chance to relax with a good book and a good coffee.
The creation of VVG Something was a natural process, with Wang following her heart throughout. While she had no blueprints to speak of, Wang nonetheless thought long and hard about where every item and every book should go.
好樣本事也提供咖啡和座位，讓讀者看書的同時，也能享受咖啡香。
VVG Something doesn’t just provide books and trinkets, but also coffee and seating, giving guests a chance to relax with a good book and a good coffee.
咖啡杯則是汪麗琴特地從日本買回來的，表面略粗，外型如絲瓜，溫暖又不燙手，搭配一顆純蔗糖，創造令人驚奇的口感。
The coffee cups used were specially brought in by Wang from Japan; shaped like loofahs and rough to the touch, they warm up, but don’t burn drinkers’ hands. The combination of cups, coffee, and pure cane sugar creates a surprising sensation.
從選書、擺設到咖啡，汪麗琴堅持走不一樣的路，創造自己的特色。她認為現在的台灣，很多人都想複製別人的成功，反而走不出自己的路。
From her books to her coffee, Wang has stuck to her own, less travelled road, creating a distinctive style of her own. Too many people in Taiwan are just content to try and copy others’ success, she says, rather than blaze their own trails.
「台灣很多事情都是一窩蜂，愛跟流行。」汪麗琴鼓勵時下年輕人，要能獨立思考，要有自己的靈魂；不要人云亦云，也不要盲從熱潮，要能打破舊有框架限制，勇敢去創造自己的特色。
“In a lot of things, Taiwanese are like flies buzzing around the latest trend.” For her part, Wang encourages the youth of today to think for themselves and follow their hearts, rather than blindly following fashions and limiting themselves to old ways of thinking. Instead, they should bravely set out to create something uniquely theirs.
她自知好樣本事的規模不如其他上榜書店那樣宏偉，但每間店都有自己的生命，也不可能有兩家一樣的店。對於未來發展，她也不著急，如果有很棒的點子出現，才會有所行動。
She’s well aware that VVG Something isn’t anything on the scale of the other bookstores on Flavorwire’s list, but every store has its own spirit, and no two places can really be alike. As for future expansion, Wang’s in no hurry. If she hits on a good idea, then and only then will she make a move.
好樣本事的美麗空間，希望讓更多人愛上閱讀，找回遺忘已久的趣味，激發更多奇妙靈感，確實具備了「好樣」的本事。
Fundamentally, she hopes the beautiful space of VVG Something will help more people to fall in love with reading or find their way back into a long-forgotten hobby, stimulating greater creativity and creating something that is truly very, very good.
The coffee cups used were specially brought in by Wang from Japan; shaped like loofahs and rough to the touch, they warm up, but don’t burn drinkers’ hands. The combination of cups, coffee, and pure cane sugar creates a surprising sensation.
從選書、擺設到咖啡，汪麗琴堅持走不一樣的路，創造自己的特色。她認為現在的台灣，很多人都想複製別人的成功，反而走不出自己的路。
From her books to her coffee, Wang has stuck to her own, less travelled road, creating a distinctive style of her own. Too many people in Taiwan are just content to try and copy others’ success, she says, rather than blaze their own trails.
「台灣很多事情都是一窩蜂，愛跟流行。」汪麗琴鼓勵時下年輕人，要能獨立思考，要有自己的靈魂；不要人云亦云，也不要盲從熱潮，要能打破舊有框架限制，勇敢去創造自己的特色。
“In a lot of things, Taiwanese are like flies buzzing around the latest trend.” For her part, Wang encourages the youth of today to think for themselves and follow their hearts, rather than blindly following fashions and limiting themselves to old ways of thinking. Instead, they should bravely set out to create something uniquely theirs.
她自知好樣本事的規模不如其他上榜書店那樣宏偉，但每間店都有自己的生命，也不可能有兩家一樣的店。對於未來發展，她也不著急，如果有很棒的點子出現，才會有所行動。
She’s well aware that VVG Something isn’t anything on the scale of the other bookstores on Flavorwire’s list, but every store has its own spirit, and no two places can really be alike. As for future expansion, Wang’s in no hurry. If she hits on a good idea, then and only then will she make a move.
好樣本事的美麗空間，希望讓更多人愛上閱讀，找回遺忘已久的趣味，激發更多奇妙靈感，確實具備了「好樣」的本事。
Fundamentally, she hopes the beautiful space of VVG Something will help more people to fall in love with reading or find their way back into a long-forgotten hobby, stimulating greater creativity and creating something that is truly very, very good.
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