Bookstore Guide: September 2007

About The Guide

Hello! We are Sonja and Ivan. And this is our Bookstore Guide. The idea of writing a guide to bookstores all around Europe was conceived while we were on a vacation in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Having a passion for reading and traveling, we have encountered various bookstores throughout Europe and thus have decided to make this blog and write about our findings. If you happen to find yourself in, let's say Amsterdam or Berlin or any other city, we hope that this Bookstore Guide will help you find the books you are looking for so make sure you stop and browse for some of your favorite books in these bookstores.

30.9.07

Elephant, Barcelona

Where?
Barcelona, Spain.

Recommended by

CitySpy said: "A book worms delight. Huge selection of everything by most everybody, hard or soft back. Any topic or tale. 3 euros max for 2nd hand. Rags & Mags. New titles & they will buy/exchange anything that has all it's dog's ears! Even Videos or DVD's. Notice board & an improvised café where the conversation flows like the beer & the wine & the coffee & 'T' & cakes! Oatmeal cookies & chocolate brownies. One small stretch of the legs for a whole lot of a mental hockey."

About the bookstore:

Here are the bare unvarnished facts. They sell only English books, new and second-hand. The second-hand selection is never more than three Euros (3€) and we buy all second-hand books for sixty cents (0,60€) a book. They do not quibble. If it is English and complete, they buy it. They also have videos and DVDs, all second-hand and all sold for a maximum of 3 Euros. The selection of second hand books are going for 1 euro each or 6 for 5€.

Elephant:
Address:
Creu dels Molers 12
08004 Barcelona

Website: http://www.lfant.biz

Phone and Email:
+34 934 430 594
info@lfant.biz

The Sanctuary Secondhand Bookshop, Lyme Regis

Where? Lyme Regis, Dorset, UK

Recommended by Hazel Kingston, UK.

Hazel said: "What interested me about that bookshop was the wide variety of categories stocked. As what I bought weren't antique or valuable secondhand books, I can't really say much about pricing. I bought classic Penguins like a Henry James novel for about £2.50 only. It's just one of those characterful places that you enjoy rummaging around."

About the bookstore:

The Sanctuary Bookshop is Ten Years Old this year, and to be found in central Lyme Regis. Opened in August 1997. The bookshop has ten rooms of books on four floors, the complete range of Beryl Cook Cards & Prints, artwork by Hundertwasser and Erte, and Cat Art by Ollie Lett. They have a very good stock of quality paperback literature, a reading room with comfortable armchairs, a floor of books mostly £1 or less, and, if desired, some overnight accomodation for book lovers. Lyme Regis itself, (the Pearl of Dorset), lies at the very heart of a section of the UK's South West Jurassic Coast renowned for its fossil beds.

The Sanctuary Secondhand Bookshop Lyme Regis

The Sanctuary Secondhand Bookstore:
Address:
65 Broad Street
Lyme Regis
Dorset DT7 3QF
UK

Website: http://lyme-regis.com/

Phone and Email:
00-44-1297-445815
books@lyme-regis.com

Working Hours:
Mon-Sun 10.30-18.30

29.9.07

Top 5s

Within the past few months, the number of bookstores listed in our database has been growing considerably and we hope that this process isn't about to be slowed down soon. Since we already have a rather wide selection at our hands, we have decided to introduce a new feature to our Guide. From now on, we will be releasing our personal Top 5s of European bookstores included in our Guide in several categories. The categories themselves just as the ranking of bookstores are a result of our subjective decisions, so feel free to comment, disagree, argue in favor of different bookstores etc. Should you also happen to have a suggestion for a category, don't hesitate to drop us a line and share your idea. The Top 5s will be (ir)regularly updated depending on our free time and imagination.

Top 5: Impressive Appearance

Buybook, Sarajevo

Where?
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Visited: August, 2007.

We first found the one in Mostar and were delighted to see the selection of English books, many of which were of ex-Yugoslavian writers translated in English. A couple of days later, we stumbled upon two shops of the same kind in Sarajevo. The selection in Sarajevo is far larger than the one in Mostar. The bookstore offers various fiction and non-fiction books, technical books, travel books, magazines and CDs. Besides the English selection, there is a considerable amount of Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian books. Most of the prices are standard book prices. There is also a café that accompanies each of these bookstores.

About the bookstore:
Bookstore - CD Shop - Publishing - Cafés. In 1996, two writers from Sarajevo started selling books from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Two years later, they opened a bookshop in Radićeva Street - in a space of some 100 square meters. A decade later, buybook is a bookstore, a CD shop, café, gallery, publishing house and a distributor of books which specializes in art, books for children, coffee&tea shop.. It's a place to promote books, a place where you can meet prominent Bosnian writers, poets, artists, teachers, directors - of all generations.

Website: http://www.buybook.ba/
Email: info@buybook.ba

bookstore & café buybook:
Address:
Radićeva 4
71000 Sarajevo

Phone: +387 33 71 64 50

Working Hours:
Mon-Sat 9-22
Sunday 10-18

Art buybook and café:
Address:
Zelenih beretki 8
71000 Sarajevo

Phone:+387 33 71 20 10

Working Hours:
Mon-Sat 9-23
Sunday 10-18

buybook and café Karabit (Mostar):
Address:
Onešćukova 24
88000 Mostar
Phone: +387 36 55 88 10

Working Hours:
Mon-Sat 9-21
Sunday 10-14

Compendium Bookshop, Athens

Where?
Athens, Greece.

Visited: July, 2007.

On an another random stroll, we found ourselves in front of a bookstore that seemed like any other of its kind. But we were wrong! This fine bookstore sells both new and used fiction and nonfiction in English, plus magazines and maps. Local writers sometimes hold readings here. We arrived short before the closing hour, but the staff was kind enough to give us a few extra minutes to browse. In the very back part of the store, there is an impressive second-hand collection of books in English, with most of it being romance novels but there is surely a good read to be found among them. The whole second hand section is kind of hidden in the back, the shelves with the books skirt a stairway which leads to the dark underground part of the store, which creates a specific atmosphere for your search...

About the bookstore:
Compendium bookstore, which many consider heaven for ex-pats, carries travel books, books on Greece, academic books, used books, magazines and maps. The bookstore has moved from their old location in 28 Nikis street, so make sure you check out their new location on the corner of Nikodimou and Nikis street neat Syntagma. In their own words, Compendium holds the taste of a bookshop and the touch of a library.

Compendium Bookstore:
Address:
5, N. Nikodimou & Nikis st. Syntagma
Athens

Website: none

Phone and Email:
210 322 1248
compendium@otenet.gr
compend@ath.forthnet.gr

Working Hours:
Mon-Fri 9-20
Saturday 9-17

International Bookstore, Vienna

Where?
Vienna, Austria.

Visited: May, 2007.

While randomly walking about the city, we accidentally stumbled upon this bookstore which is in the business of selling anglophone books and magazines, some of which can be bought at very reasonable prices. Later, we found out that there is more than one store of such kind in Vienna.

About the bookshop:
International Bookstore is a shop of the American Discount Group.

Website: http://www.americandiscount.at/

Email: office@americandiscount.at

American Discount (1):
Address:
Neubaugasse 39
A-1070 Wien

Phone: +43 1 523 37 07

Working Hours:
Tue-Fri 9.45-1 and 1.30-18.45
Saturday 9-13

American Discount (2):
Address:
Rechte Wienzeile 5
A-1040 Wien

Phone: +43 1 587 57 72

Working Hours:
Mon-Fri 9.30-18.30
Saturday 9.30-17

Extra Information:

There are also 3 more American Discount bookstores at the Vienna National Airport and one more in Graz. For the location on these stores and the offices of the American Discount Group in Austria, please visit their official website.

28.9.07

IPS, Belgrade & Novi Sad

Where?
Belgrade, Serbia
Novi Sad, Serbia

Visited: from 2003 onwards

Located in the two biggest cities in Serbia (and many more for that matter), these IPS stores are located on several floors and offer various items: from miscellaneous gifts, CDs, games, magazines, home and decoration items to an ample collection of Serbian and English books from fiction to non-fiction, from art books and study books to books on music, film, sports, etc. The selection is quite large and the fiction section is usually up-to-date with the current "trends" if one can call them that. The art section is rather extensive and more than interesting to browse through. The bookstore also stocks dictionaries (various languages) and language teaching materials.

IPS bookstores often have a special offer on books - either some books on a special discount (you can even get a new book for less than 3 euros) or a 3 for 2 offer where you can get three books for the price of two.

About the bookstore:

IPS is the leading importer and distributor of books, music editions, gift, home & decoration and travel program. With a continuous development, opening of specialized stores in the center of Belgrade and other bigger cities in Serbia and Montenegro and with the opening of the Mamut Megastore, the largest shop of media products in this part of Europe, they have set the new standards on the market.

Website: http://www.ips.co.yu/

Email: office@ips.co.yu

The Mamut Megastore in Belgrade:
Address:
The corner of Sremska and Knez Mihajlova
11000 Belgrade

Phone:
011 639 060

Working Hours:
Mon-Sat 9-22
Sunday 12-22

IPS Megastore in Novi Sad:
Address:
Zmaj Jovina 15
21000 Novi Sad

Phone:
021 6614 131; 021 421 301

Working Hours:
Mon-Sat 9-21

Extra Information:
For the complete list of IPS stores in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis, Podrgorica, Subotica and Cacak visit the official IPS website.

Red Bus Bookstore, Budapest

Where? Budapest, Hungary

Visited: June, 2007.

This amazing second hand English bookstore, which is a part of the Red Bus Hostel, became our regular stop on our rather frequent visits to Budapest. We were stunned by the vast collection of books at more than reasonable prices. Come to think of it, most of the books are sold at unbelievably low prices in this bookaholic paradise. Most of the books cost around 4€, but selected titles are offered for 2€ and there are practically no titles for more than 5€. The selection of fiction is really wide and of a high quality, which is not that usual for second hand bookstores. Interesting titles can be found among the non-fiction books as well, the topics covered include psychology, business, biographies, politics, history, sports, humor, teaching materials and others.
Two important pieces of advice for those of you who will have an opportunity to check this place out personally. Be sure to bring along a big bag, because this is one of the rare places, where you can actually talk of a book shopping spree, without having to worry about ruining your monthly budget. The circulation of books in this place is exceptional as well, so it pays off to come back much more often than it's usual for other second hand bookstores.

About the bookstore:

Opened in April 2001, The Red Bus Bookshop is in the very center of Budapest on Semmelweis street, close to Deak Ferenc square metro station. The shop has thousands of second hand English books: fiction, classics, children books, non-fiction, books on war, crime, politics, history, travel, science fiction, travel, religion, cooking, education, language, sport, etc. The bookstore also buys all types of books.

Red Bus Bookstore:
Address:
V. Budapest.
Semmelweis utca 14

Website: http://www.redbusbudapest.hu/book.htm

Phone and Email:
+36 (06)1 - 337 7453
redbusbudapest@hotmail.com

Working Hours:
Mon-Fri 11-18
Saturday 10-14
Sunday closed

The American Book Center, Amsterdam

Where?
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
(Den Haag, The Netherlands.)

Visited: May, 2007.

This is a large 3 floor bookstore. Here, you can find absolutely everything you may need: from books, newspapers, magazines (mostly from The States) to various travel guides and CDs.
Be careful not to get lost among all the books and if you plan on visiting this store, be sure that you spare at least one hour to indulge yourself in all the wonders The American Book Center has to offer.

About the bookstore:

In 1972 a couple of young enthusiastic Americans came to Amsterdam, the city where anybody, anything and everything goes, and decided to open a store with American erotic magazines and book remainders bought for 10 cents a pound dry weight...that was over 30 years ago! Today the American Book Center has grown in one of the biggest, maybe even the biggest source of American (and British) language books on continental Europe with not only a store in Amsterdam but also one in The Hague (which opened in 1976).

The ABC in Amsterdam:
Address:
1012 XA Amsterdam
Spui 12

Website: http://www.abc.nl

Phone and email:
020 625 55 37
info@abc.nl

Working Hours:
Mon-Sat 10-20
Thursday 10-21
Sunday 11-18.30

The ABC in Den Haag
Address:
2511 CM Den Haag
Lange Poten 23

Phone and Email:
070 3642742
dh@abc.nl

Working Hours:
Monday 11-19
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10-19
Thursday 10-21
Saturday 10-18
Sunday 12-18

Extra Information:
10% discount for students, 65+, teachers and ABC discount cardholders.

27.9.07

Advertise on Bookstore Guide

If you are interested in promoting yourself or your company on Bookstore Guide, feel free to contact us via E-MAIL. We will gladly provide you with all the additional information about the site and the advertising possibilities.

Rome, ITA

Click on the links below for more information on bookstores in Rome:

1. The Bookàbar Bookshop

2. The Lion Bookshop

Back to Bookstore Guide's Home

Reports (bsg on the road)

This section of Bookstore Guide is dedicated to our impressions from our European trips. Besides the usual or more often unusual sights and attractions, we always try to visit the local bookstores as well. Whether it means checking out the bookstores recommended by others or simply keeping our eyes open while strolling through the streets, Bookstore Guide is on our minds. We decided to share these findings with you and so from now on, you can find the reports from the places we have visited here. Our UNmodest but equally UNrealistic ambition is to cover at least all the major European cities. Then again, we have no deadline set, so we can at least say that with each added report we're heading in the right direction...

Report from Prague
(March 2008)

Report from Budapest
(February 2008)

Report from Poland (Warsaw & Krakow)
(January 2008)

Bucharest, ROM

Click on the links below for more information on bookstores in Bucharest:

1. Anthony Frost

2. Carturesti

Back to Bookstore Guide's Home

Donate

a liver...

Ok, seriously now. Bookstore Guide started off as a simple idea and we didn't really know what to expect from it. The positive feedback from our visitors made us realize, that this project does have some potential and has encouraged us to try to expand our scope and to dedicate more time and energy to the Guide. We have already introduced one new feature - Reports from our bookstore-oriented trips throughout European cities - and we have some more ideas in stock. However, Bookstore Guide still remains our hobby in the first place, and at the moment we can't afford to dedicate as much time to it as these plans would require, mainly due to the fact that we're both still studying and trying to hold on to our jobs at the same time.

Although we were a bit reluctant to this possibility at first, we decided to give our visitors who find the content of this Guide useful an opportunity to support Bookstore Guide and thus enable its further progress and growth in both size and quality. Any amount is much appreciated.

To make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the button below:
Thank you very much for for supporting Bookstore Guide...

Brussels, BEL

Click on the links below for more information on bookstores in Brussels:

1. Librarie Filigranes

2. Posada Art Books

Back to Bookstore Guide's Home

Florence, ITA

Click on the links below for more information on bookstores in Florence:

1. BM Bookshop

2. McRae Books

Back to Bookstore Guide's Home

Munchen, GER

Click on the links below for more information on bookstores in Munchen:

1. Hugendubel Bookshop

2. The Munich Readery

Back to Bookstore Guide's Home

Your Contribution

Since our team of two does not possess a Swiss bank account nor a private jet, it is rather difficult for us to compile this guide without your help. Unless some of you can provide us with a previously mentioned bank account or the jet..

Jokes aside, we are still in the need of your help - a little less demanding one. The success of this project very much depends on your contributions. Therefore, we kindly ask of you to recommend us bookstores that you feel are worthy of our guide. This way, you as well can help other travelers and book lovers on the road.

What do we mean by this? Should you happen to know bookstores of such kind, send us an email, telling us a bit about the store (adding your own 'personal feel') and we'll do our best to make the bookstore appear on the site.

Please note that we are only focusing on bookstores throughout Europe. Also, we would like to point out that all the bookstores you recommend should contain books in English.

Our email is: bookstoreguide@gmail.com

Thank you!

Athens, GRE

Click on the links below for more information on bookstores in Athens:

1. Compendium

2. Eleftheroudakis

Back to Bookstore Guide's Home

Warsaw, POL

Click on the links below for more information on bookstores in Warsaw:

1. American Bookstore

2. Tarabuk

If you wish to read more on bookstores in Poland, read our Report.

Back to Bookstore Guide's Home

Comments

If you happen to visit any of the bookstores listed on our site, feel free to post a comment and share your personal opinion on the bookstore with the others. You can also use this space to list the most interesting titles along with their price, that you managed to find in the given store - your personal "best buys".