We all know Frank Sinatra for his lyrics, his songs, his love of women and living large. But, did you know he also had a love of a bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, a small independent bookstore in Paris?

Ed Walters, a former pit boss at the Sands in Las Vegas, was guided by Frank Sinatra in the 1960s and shared how often Sinatra mentioned books.


What few Sinatra fans know is that he loved books, especially history books. He was in the casino at a 21 table, playing blackjack and talking with his friends. He told the guys, “I’m giving Eddie some books to educate him. He needs it.”


He asked about a book he’d given me, was I reading it. He said, “Eddie you must travel and when you do, go to Paris, go to the Shakespeare bookstore. I know the guy there. Go see the guy George—he’s a guy that lives with the books.”

Ed Walters, Friend of Frank Sinatra

We suppose it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, after all, he also loved to write songs about love. And what better resource for a poet than to read books!

For more Literary pop culture at The Ritual, check out this thread. You might also like reading Guy de Maupassant – Horror Fiction and 10 Killer Quotes

“Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.”

Frank Sinatra

“The best revenge is massive success.”

Frank Sinatra

“You may be a puzzle, but I like the way the parts fit.”

Copyright © 2024 By Mind on Fire Books

The article was written by a dark fiction author, Willy Martinez, to be released on the Ritual Blog for Mind on Fire Books.

Willy Martinez on Mind on Fire Books

Author of dark fiction Mythology, “The Sigua” and short visceral fiction, “Flora.”

Willy Martinez is also featured in our anthology Mad Men, available for sale now.


Discover more from Mind on Fire Books

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply


The State uses horror to keep you compliant. We use it to set you free.

You think you’re reading for the thrills? You’re actually witnessing a rehearsal for your own submission. The monsters under your bed have migrated into our laws, our economic systems, and our political speeches.

Subscribe to join the Mind on Fire Books inner circle. Upon authentication, we will transmit The Foucauldian Bestiary directly to your inbox—an 11-page, zine-style decryption key that unmasks the rhetorical mechanics of fear through the works of Aron Beauregard, Shirley Jackson, and Robert Heinlein.