Book lovers and world travellers in Chiang Mai were saddened to learn of the demise of George O’Brien, proprietor of The Lost Bookshop at 34/3 Ratchamankha Road, and formerly of Backstreet Books on Chiang Moi Kao Road near Tha Pae Gate, on 13th August 2026, aged 74.
An avid bibliophile, ‘Irish George’ was a person in the perfect profession, as the shelves of his labyrinthine bookshop were lined with gems of every genre, and he was always on hand with his encyclopaedic knowledge to help customers find what they sought, whether it was an obscure work on local history or a treatise on molecular biology. “Doris Lessing? Third shelf on the right upstairs. Charles Bukowski? Down in that corner, just along from William Boyd.”
Photo credit from tripadvisor.com
When not busy, George often regaled visitors to the shop with hilarious anecdotes of his earlier days, working as a chef and restauranteur in Ireland and Holland. His Irish brogue and irreverent manner had listeners in stitches, such that it seemed he must have kissed the Blarney Stone at one point of his travels. His gift of the gab will be sorely missed, and sadly he never wrote down his memoirs.
George’s departure seems oddly symbolic as it comes at a time when the news is full of Anthropic’s efforts to buy up all the world’s rare books, then download and destroy them, bringing printed media a step closer to its inevitable disappearance from our lives. So if you’re someone who loves holding a book in your hands rather than a kindle or tablet, get on down to stock up you shelves before The Lost Bookshop is lost forever.
Thank you kind anonymous friend who sent in this obituary.