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Genres Book Society, a new bookshop coming to L.A., is hiding a few secrets. The first indication that something a bit fantastical is going on here is the fact that the boutique store has a mascot.

Look up upon entering the space, and you’ll meet Lore. Lore is a dragon, and this dragon is made of books. The striking sculpture will hover over a cozy space with modular bookshelves that are arranged on a floor covered in book quotes. Peer closely and you’ll see the quotes are designed in the shape of a tree.

A story is being built, a narrative that signifies that Genres aims to be not just a bookshop, but a place that feels like a real-life fairy tale. For this bookstore is also concealing a speakeasy of sorts, a secluded cafe and bar with multiple themed spaces and a two-story tree with glowing books growing out of its branches.

Stories, Genres is telling us, are life.

“This is for people who want to enter into story worlds,” says Ann Morrow Johnson of design firm Gensler. Johnson, a former creative with Walt Disney Imagineering, leads Gensler’s entertainment and experiences division, which is designing the bookshop.

She wants guests to feel transported into a fantasy universe, and understands how to make that happen. For instance? “Adding just a little bit of theatricality and sparkle helps create an invitation of suspension of disbelief,” she says.

The centerpiece of Genre’s bookstore, shown in an artist’s rendering, will be a dragon named Lore.

(Gensler)

Genres, on track to open in mid-2027 near the intersection of Melrose and Fairfax avenues, is tapping into a local trend of heavily designed thematic spaces with a penchant for fantasy. Think, for instance, of the Witch’s Cottage in North Hollywood, or the Last Canteen in the shadow of Universal Studios Hollywood. Consider it the latest evolution of the themed restaurant, and a way to bring the heavily theatrical worlds of theme parks closer to home. Johnson, for instance, says the firm’s research with the the Immersive Experience Institute has shown a hunger in younger generations to embrace spaces such as the Rainforest Cafe.

“People are seeking out a moment,” Johnson says. “Those more theatrical, highly scenic spaces are more likely to get you off your phone. Little moments of delight center you.”

Genres was dreamed up Clare Grant and Karissa Marston, who brought the project to Gensler and tapped them to lead its design. Grant, an actor/producer, says the idea came to her while experiencing the regret of missing a retreat hosted by her girlfriends, who had rented a cabin to read the latest edition in the fantasy “Crescent City” series.

“Just having a newborn, I was like, ‘Why can’t I go read this book in a fantasy-themed cabin?’ That’s literally my dream,” Grant says. “Then I started thinking about it. Why don’t I have something like this in Los Angeles, where I can pop in for an afternoon or evening where someone is handing me drinks and food in an immersive space?”

Marston, it turns out, who has experience in hospitality and marketing with an emphasis on fandom, was already dreaming of such a space. The two of them crafted a business plan for a bookstore, one that wouldn’t look out of place in a sword and sorcery fantasy novel, with a hidden speakeasy.

“I was in Paris, and I went to the Shakespeare bookstore, and it was truly the most magical experience I have ever had,” Marston says. “I walked in and felt so immersed in the books and the history and I went up to the second floor and sat up there and wept. I was like, ‘I never want to leave this place. I only ever want to feel this way and be surrounded by books and people who love books.’”

Their vision is grand. The bookstore, they hope, will become a gathering spot for authors in the fantasy and sci-fi realms. And they talk of the speakeasy as not just being a safe eatery to sit and read all day, but also a future venue for, say, immersive theater. The two-story space will house multiple themed rooms, either for hanging out and hiding, or for potential events.

“I think it’s safe to say that if you wanted to be transported to outer space, you would be pleasantly surprised,” Marston says. “Or if you wanted to escape to Dracula’s castle or some of these other really big genres that you have, readers will be pleasantly surprised at the worlds that we are building.”

Johnson says Genres will be flexible enough to welcome introverts who want to dream away the day with a book, but can also be a home for a baby shower in addition to an author signing or a theatrical event. That’s in part why the shop and ground floor of the speakeasy have a familiar fantasy vibe, one not out of place in, say, the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, albeit with the welcoming tone of Disney.

Genres’ founders cited “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as an inspiration for the bookshop’s bar, depicted in an artist’s rendering.

(Gensler)

“The focal point of the space is this sort of epic woodland fantasy,” Marston says. “When we first brought this to Gensler, and showed them our inspo deck, we kept saying ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’”

That’s key, as everything in the space will spring from the written word. Genres, in that sense, also feels refreshing, emphasizing actual books and tactile media at a cultural moment when AI is often dominating conversations. Grant and Marston speak of being influenced by passionate social media creators who celebrate books, wanting to build a community as much as an event space. A prerequisite to be a bartender, says Marston, will need to be a love of books.

“We’re calling all our bartenders book-tenders,” Marston says. “Not only will they be well-versed in all things spirits and cocktails, but they are also someone who can give you the next book recommendation. These are very specialized employees. They can curate cocktails and books for you.”

Consider Genres a place for dinner and drinks, but one where story is always on the menu.

“People are craving more than dinner,” Grant says. “They want experience. They want magical memories that can get them through harder moments because nothing is easy right now. People want to spend money on something that is more than just dinner or going to a bar. Like whimsy.”

IF you love fantastic food and hotels that make you feel like you’ve stepped into Pride & Prejudice, we have just the place for you.

Here’s everything you need to know about staying at The George In Rye in East Sussex.

Where is The George in Rye?

Slap bang in the middle of town, you won’t miss The George in Rye – the Georgian House is painted in an easily-spottable salmon pink.

What’s it like?

The Grade II listed building dates back to 1575, welcoming three previous King Georges.

And the hotel has masterfully toed the line of restoring its heritage while modernising just enough.

Think old wooden staircases and low beamed bars next to trendy cocktail menus.

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What are the rooms like?

The exterior of the hotel doesn’t betray the maze of the building which saw me go down stairs, up stairs and through courtyards to find my tucked away room.

Bold pattern wallpapers and vintage furniture were offset by brushed brass lights and DAB radios.

My king-size bed was deliciously sink-into-able, while the lounge area was the best spot for a cup of tea and a biscuit, all complimentary.

The larger rooms – I was staying in their Junior Suite – have roll top baths, so you better believe I hopped straight in, making the most of the free Verbon toiletries.

It even has a tiny outdoor patio and table and chairs for you to have a coffee in the warmer months.

If you’re on a budget, opt for their Cosy Rooms which are more compact but just as gorgeous. Rooms start from £125 a night. See thegeorgeinrye.com.

What is there to eat and drink?

The restaurant is a must, even if you aren’t a guest at the hotel.

The Grill is the epitome of cosiness with deep red walls, low lighting and the perfect level of lo-do music.

And it has a delightfully concise menu – I hate having too many options.

My smoked salmon salsa to start was refreshingly zingy and fresh, and just light enough to line my stomach before devouring their rib eye steak. 

My dessert was the star of the show, with super sweet macerated strawberries offset by kalamata ice cream and marshmallow.

If you want to swap the pudding for a cocktail, The Dragon Bar has a great menu which also includes wines and beers.

Try the drink of the season – a Sarti Spritz – or my favourite, the aptly named Dragon Mojito.

(Come back for breakfast too – my Mimosa and Hastings Kipper went down a treat).

What else is there?

As tempting as it is to stay at the hotel, the town of Rye needs to be explored.

Grab a decadent hot chocolate from Knoops, before walking the cobbles paths of Mermaid Lane, which look straight out of a fairytale.

Beach days aren’t far away either, with Camber Sands beach just down the road too.

Is it family friendly?

The hotel has some rooms that are perfect for kids, with the Luxury Rooms and Junior Suites able to fit kids beds

Is it accessible?

There is an accessible room which can be accessed by the ground floor lift, which can also take you to the ballroom.

However being such an old building, there may be some issues with getting around the rest of the hotel.

Many favour a circular walk, but you can give a linear one new shape with the addition of a novel form of transport. My wife Helen, our friend Tom Cox and I take the water taxi – a rigid inflatable boat (Rib) – from West Bay on Dorset’s coast to Lyme Regis, with a plan to walk back to our starting point.

The rain stops as the boat leaves the harbour, the views open along Chesil Beach to low-lying Portland to the east, and west to Lyme Regis; on the far horizon, we can see Start Point on the Devon coast. Our skipper, Nick, is highly knowledgable and takes time to stop and point out the history of the shoreline and the treacherous waters of Lyme Bay. The seabed is studded with wrecks – fishing boats and smugglers’ ships, but some are from the two world wars.

On New Year’s Day 1915, the battleship HMS Formidable was torpedoed by a German submarine. Of its crew of 750, no more than 200 survived. In the second world war, the Dorset coast was a huge mustering station for the allied forces in preparation for D-day. During Exercise Tiger, a large-scale rehearsal for the Normandy landings, hundreds of American service personnel were killed in an attack by German boats later known as the Battle of Lyme Bay – the wreck sites are now designated war graves.

At Lyme Regis, we disembark on to the Cobb, the harbour wall that snakes unsteadily into the bay and was made famous by Jane Austen, who had Louisa jump from it in Persuasion, and by John Fowles, who lived in Lyme. The movie adaptation of his novel The French Lieutenant’s Woman starred Meryl Streep as Sarah Woodruff. Its famous trailer begins with the actor sweeping across the Cobb, the hood of her cloak covering her face. For the filming, many buildings in the town were given a 19th-century facade. For a film that plays with time, it seems appropriate that the town’s bookshop kept its temporary fascia for many years.

Our walk back to West Bay is 10 miles long and begins not along the coast but by heading inland. The west Dorset coast is friable – the cliffs keep falling on to the beaches, and the path to Charmouth takes a diversion through a golf course. It wasn’t always like this: once there was a coastal road, Long Entry, between the two settlements. In 1725, Henry Fielding, then aged 17, attempted to abduct his cousin Sarah, with whom he was infatuated, from Lyme. The future novelist made his escape along Long Entry before being stopped by her guardian.

Our walk back to the coast is interrupted by a sculpture on the path. The shape of a woman, angular and determined, a hammer in her outstretched right hand, the other holding above her head the skeleton of a prehistoric animal. There’s another recent sculpture of the same subject, Mary Anning, in Lyme Regis, recording her importance to palaeontology and to the town, but this upland creature, made by Greta Berlin, is wilder, perfectly suited to its woodland setting. The representation of the fossil held aloft is Anning’s discovery: Ichthyosaurus anningae. One cannot walk this section of Dorset’s coast without being aware of its ancient past and the fragile geology close to the surface. Our boat trip began on crumbly sandstone, which gave way to fossil-rich clay as we travelled west.

Charmouth is a pretty village with no harbour; its shallow waters make it popular with those learning to swim or paddleboard. This next section of the South West Coast Path, to West Bay, coincides with the Monarch’s Way, the route that Charles II took to flee to mainland Europe after the civil war. Our day is more peaceful but the path is steep. We’re grateful for Tom’s company – his latest novel, Everything Will Swallow You, is infused with the history and landscape of the Dorset coast and his knowledge enlivens our walk, as do the pasties he brings, baked by his wife, Ellie.

We pass the remains of St Gabriel’s Church, which fell into disuse in the 18th century, although smugglers found within its walls useful shelter for their contraband. Soon we’re on Golden Cap, the highest point on the south coast – 191 metres (627ft) above sea level, with extraordinary views over Lyme Bay. At Seatown, we stop at the Anchor Inn for refreshments, meeting friends who have opted for a shorter walk. From Thorncombe Beacon, we descend to Eype Mouth – in Old English Eype is “Steep Place”; the church in this secluded village was chosen by PJ Harvey to record Let England Shake, a Mercury prize-winning album rich with the echoes of war.

There are further reminders of the coast’s fragility on the final stretch to West Bay – one sign references a cliff fall in 2020, and the path is frequently redirected to safer routes. West Bay, a small stone town, was once the harbour from where Bridport exported its rope and was originally called Bridport Harbour, but had its name changed by the railway company hoping to attract tourists. The railway is long gone – its station now hosts a restaurant in railway carriages – but West Bay, with its stalls for chips and views back towards Lyme, is a fitting place to end, a town out of time.

OS Explorer 116 (Lyme Regis & Bridport) covers the entire walk from Lyme Regis to West Bay. The Lyme Bay Water Taxi operates during the summer months; there is a year-round bus service between West Bay and Lyme Regis. Jon Woolcott is the author of Real Dorset and The Tattooed Hills, Journeys to Chalk Figures