BCN Books, Barcelona

Where? Barcelona, Spain


Visited: August 2008
(Read more on BCN Books in our Report from Barcelona)

After a day of visiting various (known and not-so-known) sights of Barcelona, we embarked on yet another bookstore hunt in order to explore what Catalunya's capital has to offer. As always, we were looking forward to any additional entry to our Guide and this was, of course, the case with BCN Books as well.

Unfortunately, the prime location of BCN Books is not as favorable as, perhaps, the location of other Barcelonian bookstores in Bookstore Guide (BCN Books is located on the corner of Roger de Lluria and Provenca) but then again it is some half an hour walk away from the main tourist zone i.e. the city center. As a matter of fact, none of the three BCN Books locations are in the very pedestrian zone of the city. However, having walked the distance to the bookstore, we were not left disappointed with what it had to offer.

Spreading on two floors, it is also characterized by an odd, still not at all sterile tidiness and cleanliness. BCN Books sells solely new editions. The fiction and travel sections can be found on the ground floor, while the spiral staircase leads your way up to the heaven of teaching and learning materials for all ages and all levels.

BCN Books has been around for quite some time and it primarily offers various language learning and teaching materials (grammars, dictionaries, course books) - thus it has established itself as one of the prime locations for foreign language books. It also stocks contemporary fiction and classics, as well as a decent selection of travel guides and books on Barcelona.

BCN Books
Address:
Roger de Lluria 118
08037 Barcelona










Website: http://www.bcnbooks.com/

Phone and Email:
934577692
bcnbooks@bcnbooks.com

Working Hours:
Mon-Fri 10-20
Sat 10-14

Extra Information: BCN Books can be found on three different locations in Barcelona. For the exact location of the other two BCN Books outlets, visit their official website.

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Bookworld, Madrid

Where? Madrid, Spain



Visited: August 2008
(Read more on Bookworld in our Report from Madrid)

During our stay in Madrid, we also visited the Bookworld bookstore, which previously hasn't been mentioned among our listings for Madrid. The ground floor of this bookstore stores mainly fiction and autobiographies, while the basement is dedicated to non-fiction titles and a wide range of English Language Teaching materials. Bookworld also offers an expanded selection of titles related to Spain - books on the history and geography of Spain, its culture, language and even cuisine are to be found in a separate section. One more thing that caught our attention was a large notice board near the entrance with lots of English language-related ads.

Bookworld only sells new books, mostly within the usual catalog-price ranges. However, we were pleasantly surprised by their special offers - selected titles from all categories (mostly fiction though) displayed on the bookstore's shelves are offered for a friendly price of 4,90€. Most importantly, the special offers weren't the usual books you can't get rid of for a long time, but interesting titles temporarily available at a favorable price. Selected hard-cover titles were also reduced considerably, including the new book by Paul Auster (Man in the Dark), which also occupied the bookstore's window. The staff at Bookworld was very friendly, which only added to our overall positive impression of this bookstore.

Bookworld is the story of a successful business which started off in 1990 as one small shop in San Pedro de Alcantara and aimed at supplying bookstores in the south of Spain with quality English titles, as well as offering them at occasional bookfairs and markets. Almost two decades later, it now consists of twelve exclusively English bookstores (the complete list can be found HERE) scattered around the whole country, and thus continues to fulfill its ambition of "opening up the world of English books in Spain". Bookworld also actively participates in promoting the English language in Spain. It has a separate Educational Department, and organizes so-called traveling Bookfairs (a van full of English titles roaming schools and offering books to students and their parents), which both focus at intensifying the cooperation with schools.

Bookworld
Address:
C/ Goya 56
28001 Madrid










Website: http://www.bookworldespana.com/

Phone and Email:
915 782 316
madridgoya@bookworldespana.com

Working Hours:
Mon-Sat 10-20 (winter working hours)

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La Mauvaise Réputation, Bordeaux

Where? Bordeaux, France




Visited in: August 2008

We didn't head for Bordeaux in search of bookstores and we definitely didn't expect to find one like this. La Mauvaise Réputation is a bookstore unlike any other in our Guide so far, the only rated R bookstore to be precise, and we wouldn't be surprised at all if it stayed like that for some time to come. La Mauvaise Réputation translates as The Bad Reputation, and there's also an old French folk song which goes by the same name and which may have inspired the owners. As George Brassens sings with his unique style in his track from 1953 "No, the good folks don't like it when you follow a different path than them" (Non les brav's gens n'aiment pas que l'on suive une autre route qu'eux...) and that's exactly what the owners of this bookstore have decided to do. And we're quite sure that their reputation and what the good folks think of them are one of the last things on their minds.

To explain, this bookstore specializes in everything which can be filed under the category weird, alternative or even obscene: its stock contains books on all imaginable forms of body art (tattoos, piercings, and a few more you didn't even know existed), modern and postmodern art, street art, eroticism (novels, photobooks, and even comic books), gay and lesbian issues, literature noir, an interesting selection of graphic novels, books on graphic design and less promoted forms of visual arts in general, fiction from the romans noir category and lots of other stuff. Another impressive factor about the stock of this bookstore is its origin - rare titles imported from the United States, Japan or Great Britain, mostly issued by small publishing houses. And most importantly for our Guide, this considerable part of the bookstore's offer is in English.

Besides being a bookstore with a very specific focus, La Mauvaise Réputation, celebrating its 6th anniversary this year, also serves as a gallery, and the walls of the bookstore and especially the whole backroom serve as showcases for its regular exhibitions. It won't come as a surprise that works of art which find their way to this space are quite provoking to say at least. La Mauvaise Réputation is not an average bookstore, and it doesn't intend to please everyone. It goes so far beyond the line where normal bookstores stop, that the line becomes invisible. This bookstore is dark, it's stuffed with words, thoughts and images full of sex, freedom to express yourself and be different, provocation, alternatives, courage and beauty in all forms. Still, the final result is anything but cheap and vulgar, and the owners deserve a lot of credit for that. We were definitely impressed...

La Mauvaise Réputation
Address:
19 rue des Argentiers
33000 Bordeaux










Website: http://www.lamauvaisereputation.net

Phone and Email:
05 56 79 73 54
contact@lamauvaisereputation.net

Working Hours:
Mon-Sat 10-19

Back to the list of bookstores in Bordeaux

Bradley's Bookshop, Bordeaux

Where? Bordeaux, France




Visited: August, 2008

While in Bordeaux (Aquitaine region of France), we visited Bradley's Bookshop, a rather petite but seemingly well stocked bookstore. At first we weren't perhaps as impressed, having seen all the glory of Paris' English language bookstores. However, and considering it is the only bookstore in this area which specializes in English language books, one needs to give credit to it. Furthermore, it is one of the oldest English language bookstores in the whole of France, operating for over two decades - from 1983.

Once you enter, you'll immediately notice the bookstore's specialty - books on English language learning, which they have an ample amount of. Besides supplying the individual demand of customers from near and far, Bradley's also closely cooperates with the local university and language schools. Bradley's also stocks general fiction, latest releases and some of the most famous bestsellers. The staff at the bookstore was helpful and friendly, explaining how it all functions down there in the South-West of France.

Bradley's Bookshop specializes in ELT (English Language Teaching) materials: from various coursebooks and teaching aid materials to dictionaries, books on vocabulary building, grammars, literature guides and simplified editions of many famous works. However, this is not all - their selection of fiction, although it may not blow you off your feet as many other fiction-orientated bookstores, is rather satisfactory for your average English fiction book lover. The contribution and the influence which Bradley's has in this part of France can't be undermined, especially because it's been operating for over 25 years and supplying many in their needs to learn the English language (and let's face it, France isn't an anglophile country and any effort in making the French learn English has to be appreciated).

Bradley's Bookshop
Address:
8 cours d'Albret
Bordeaux










Website: http://www.bradleys-bookshop.com

Phone and Email:
05 56 52 10 57
livres@bradleys-bookshop.com

Working Hours:
Mon 14-19
Tue-Sat 9:30-19

Extra Information:
Bradley's Bookshop gives 5% discount to students and teachers
(to be mentioned before the purchase).

Back to the list of bookstores in Bordeaux

The Abbey Bookshop, Paris

Where? Paris, France



Visited: August, 2008
(Read more on The Abbey Bookshop in our Report from Paris)

After circling around for a while in search of the street by the name of Rue de la Parcheminerie and with the help of the locals, we managed to find the Abbey Bookshop - Paris' first English / French Canadian bookstore. After entering, we were first stunned at how many books manage to fit into such a small bookstore, only to find out that the bookstore itself is actually not that small at all - it has several rooms and even a basement full of second hand and new books. Books were literally all over the place - inside, in front, stocked in piles and even on double sliding shelves - sometimes it's even difficult to move around. The large flag hanging above the bookstore's entrance wasn't the only indicator of the Canadian character of the place as we were also greeted by the music of Leonard Cohen. We descended into the cool depths of the Abbey Bookshop's basement where we found a more than impressive collection of non-fiction titles. Especially the section dedicated to social sciences (the subject of political philosophy deserves to be mentioned above all) holds titles which are really hard to find in Europe.

We had a chat with the owner, Brian Spence, who opened the bookstore in 1989 (next year, on July 1st, the Abbey Bookshop will be 20 years old). After having little luck with real estate agents, Brian found the location for his bookstore by walking around Paris' neighborhoods that he himself liked and knocking on the doors. Soon afterwards, he had the perfect spot for Abbey in the Latin Quarter in the heart of Paris. And we can confirm that he has a whole repertoire of interesting stories connected to the history of the impressive building he has chosen for his bookstore.

Abbey Bookshop stocks over 35,000 titles (5,000 purely Canadian ones) covering topics from literature, arts via philosophy and history to travel guides and books on francophone countries. The offer is a combination of both new and used books, exclusively in English. It is a subsidiary of Toronto's Abbey Bookshop and it is the only bookstore outside of Canada representing Canadian publishers. Brian certainly knows his stock well and will help you find any book you need, regardless if they have it on stock or not. All in all, if you find yourself getting tired of all the tourists in front of Notre Dame, we most definitely recommend you to look up Abbey, which is located just a few streets away, and you're in for a pleasant surprise.

The Abbey Bookshop
Address:
29, rue de la Parcheminerie
75005 Paris











Website: http://www.alevdesign.com/abbey/abbey_en.html

Phone and Email:
+33-(0)146-33-1624
abbeybookshop@wanadoo.fr

Working Hours:
Mon-Sat 10-19

Back to the list of bookstores in Paris

Tea & Tattered Pages, Paris

Where? Paris, France




Visited: August 2008
(Read more on Tea & Tattered Pages in our Report from Paris)

No one has ever recommended the Parisian bookstore by the name of Tea and Tattered pages to our Guide. While doing our pre-departure online research we stumbled upon a mention of this bookstore. This was especially inquiring since Tea & Tattered pages has been in its place and serving customers since 1990. The quest for Tea & Tattered Pages hasn't been an easy one and it partly made us understand why it is not usually mentioned among the Parisian English language bookstore scene.

The bookstore is located in the 6th Arrondissement, which seems like a completely different universe compared to the center's crowded, noisy streets full of shops. On our way to Tea & Tattered Pages, we've walked for a good half an hour while spotting only occasional passers-by and a few randomly scattered and mostly empty shops. We were really glad when we finally spotted the striking red exterior of the bookstore. We were greeted by the local mascot, a huge green-eyed cat with a little bell around its neck, which was stretching on a pile of books in the open window of the store. Judging by its casual behavior, it probably got used to the attention of the bookstore's visitors.

The whole space of Tea & Tattered Pages is covered with books, mostly paperbacks, and except for a few boxes of books in French, the offer is exclusively English and second-hand. The prices were really reasonable for Paris standards, as it stands stated on the website of the bookstore. However, browsing through the selection of fiction, we couldn't avoid the feeling that this unique bookstore remembers better times. After a chat with the welcoming and friendly owner, we've been directed to the basement of the store. The air down there was a bit stiff, but this room is well worth visiting. The shelves downstairs were mostly occupied by non-fiction books of all categories, and the selection was quite impressive. The basement of the Tea & Tattered Pages surely houses many rare titles you can't find in any other bookstore well beyond Paris.

This bookstore is also one of the pioneers of the bookstore + cafe concept, and the tea room with a special offer of typical British and American snacks still remains a highly valued spots for many expats in Paris. Tea & Tattered Pages is a bookstore from the past, which has succeeded in ignoring the fast pace of life in Paris, and this feature makes it a very special place to visit. This charming bookstore reminded us of a fairytale place, existing in its own, slowed-down time zone.

Tea & Tattered Pages
Address:
24 rue Mayet
Paris 75006











Website: http://www.teaandtatteredpages.com/

Phone and Email:
01 40659435
mail@teaandtatteredpages.com

Working Hours:
Mon-Sat 11-19
Sun 12-18

Back to the list of bookstores in Paris

A Report from Brussels

The city of Brussels, often referred to as the capital of European Union, was the first stop on our summer trip of 2008. We will remember it as a wonderful bilingual and multicultural city, not too crowded with tourists, but indeed very lively. Suffice to say, among all the interesting places in Brussels, there are several bookstores which definitely deserve to be mentioned in Bookstore Guide.

As in all the other cities, our bookstore search was divided into two parts - the organized one (we had a list of bookstores we wanted to visit in each of the cities on our way) and the improvised one (we kept our eyes open while walking through the streets and were rewarded on a couple of occasions). We were well aware that our visits will be limited to browsing, as our budget was pretty tight to say at least and, surprisingly, our backpacks were getting heavier with every next step. Still, Brussels was our first stop, so we were still fresh, well-fed from home and both able and willing to walk. So here's a list of bookstores which have managed to impress us the most, along with some authentic photo material for you to enjoy.

The first bookstore we have visited in Brussels was the one we were the most eager to see - Posada Art Books. This bookstore is like a true maze, one might even say a spiderweb woven with stairs and shelves tangled up in books and comics. Located in an artsy street, Posada is just as artsy, or perhaps even more than its surrounding competitors - there were several other antiquarian and second hand bookstores in the neighborhood, none of which, unfortunately, carried English language books. Posada Art Books is definitely a master in its own branch - covering any category and subcategory that even slightly deals with art - with books in French, Dutch, English and other widely spoken or less frequent languages. The interior of the bookstore is another aspect which managed to leave a print in our bookstore-filled minds: the high walls are decorated with shelves with not only books, but also old typewriters. There was also an interesting kitchenette in one of the rooms which also contained books. Posada is a very stylish bookstore, but not in the more shallow meaning of this word. During its existence, this bookstore has naturally reached the point where it represents its own unique and individual style, which has become characteristic of the whole place.

The staff at Posada was also very cool, they seemed like true masters in their craft and they were also very talkative. The impression of a Tower of Babel was only grew stronger when we have witnessed an interesting conversation between two employees, where one of them talked only in French and the other only in Dutch.


Sterling Books is a pure English language general bookstore, which has been supplying the Belgians with quality titles for over ten years. With its gallery-type of interior (neatly organized shelves and book covers on display), it makes browsing a very pleasant and comfortable experience. The immense selection of books is certainly what makes this bookstore stand out when compared to other general English language bookstores. There is also an interesting children's corner where, besides browsing through books, children can also play since there are many toys and other fun things which keep the little ones entertained. Sterling Books is also the place, where we've discovered the book that accompanied us all through our summer trip - 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - from now on, referred to simply as 1001 Books. Now, though we're not that little anymore, we still need some sort of entertainment as well. So here's how it worked - you open the book on a random page and flip through the pages and you get a point for each book you've read. The first person to reach the desired number of points wins. In the first epic clash, Sonja pulled out a close but deserved win.

Another quite important thing to mention about this bookstore - or about any other in Brussels or the whole Western Europe carrying new titles for that matter - is that the prices of the books are not as favorable for buyers coming from countries that are located a bit more to the east of them. Some of the prices on books were even higher than those suggested by the publisher. This, however, does not seem to be an obstacle for people living in the 'more developed' world since the cash register seemed to be occupied most of the time.


Librairie Filigranes was a part of our morning program on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Filigranes is open on Sundays, actually, it's open every single day of the year and the sign 365>365 displayed under the bookstore's name shows that this bookstore takes a certain pride in this unique feature. We were well aware of this fact and our Sunday walk wasn't marked by any doubts of this sort. However, the calm and sleepy atmosphere of a Sunday morning was all but over once we entered the bookstore. Even for us, experienced bookstore visitors, the crowd at Filigranes was a bit surprising to say at least. The place resembled a busy marketplace much more than a regular bookstore. We are unable to judge if the situation is the same during weekdays, but during our visit it seemed that this place is a very popular weekend hangout spot among the locals.

The English section hidden in the basement was a whole different story - underground, small, and almost deserted. After passing through the bulletproof metal orange door which originally used to keep the money behind it safe, we found ourselves in a rather small room full of English titles. The selection of English books in Filigranes was ok, especially for a bookstore that doesn't specialize in English books. You'd surely be able to find your favorites in the fiction section where we've also found our recently discovered browsing companion 1001 Books... So we were quite content. However, we must conclude that most probably the best protected English section of any bookstore in Europe would deserve a wider and maybe a bit more bold selection of titles.


Many people have heard about one of the biggest bookstore chains that goes by the name of Waterstone's. It is a UK based bookstore which offers a wide range of both academic and general books. This is its Brussels branch and the first English language bookstore in this city. We were not sure whether or not to include this bookstore for the above mentioned reason - the word chain is not that frequent in our Guide, as we much rather show our support to independent bookstores. However, we have received several recommendations for this bookstore and once in Brussels, we decided to see for ourselves. And as you may have noticed by now, Waterstone's in Brussels has managed to persuade us that it deserves a post in our guide. The following few lines offer a short explanation to back up our decision:

Waterstone's is simply a very good English bookstore, and this fact is the most important condition for any bookstore to appear in our Guide. We also think that Waterstone's in Brussels has played an important role in promoting English books in Brussels, a role which can't be matched by any of its branches in the UK. The store is well-organized, by subjects and by authors, divided into two levels and, above all, it had our all-time companion 1001 Books - and now, it was Ivan's turn to try and have his revenge. And defended his honor, he did.


Brüsel, with its enchanting red walls and urban atmosphere, was definitely one of the most pleasant surprises on our Western Europe bookstore hunt, and the facts that we knew nothing of it and hadn't previously planned on making a stop here just add to the feeling of excitement and exhilaration. The bookstore, or rather a mixture of a bookstore, comic store and a gallery, got its name from a magical timeless city of Brüsel, a fantasy place from a graphic novel by a great Belgian comicbook artist François Schuiten - a novel that bears the same name and has a striking similarity with the city of Brussels itself. For just any Belgian comic strip, one can go to almost any major bookstore. However, here you'll find the rare ones together with an impressive collection of figures, figurines and gadgets of your favorite characters.

In our opinion, Brüsel belongs to those stores which you can't simply pass by. For us, it was a really nice refreshment after a tiring day in the city. You definitely won't confuse this unusual bookstore with any other. Visiting Brüsel actually made us think of a new Top 5 'Eccentric Bookstores' category which will very likely appear on Bookstore Guide one day. We feel obliged to add one last warning for the lovers of the comic genre: Beware, because this dark red inferno will suck you in and it won't let you go easily.



Posada set the standard for art bookstores way up high. Librairie Saint Hubert, at least in our eyes, was able to meet it. The comparison of Brussels's two famous art bookstores naturally comes to one's mind. So here's our point of view: both of these bookstores definitely belong to the best in their category, yet they are different in almost every way. They both breathe history, but while Saint Hubert has a glowing atmosphere of which can be best described by the adjectives luxurious, stylish and upper-class, the air in Posada is filled with the smell of books, and the squeaky staircases and old typewriters gazing at you from the walls create a feeling of place where time is ticking away at a different pace than in the outside world.

We entered Saint Hubert with a certain respect, due to both the posh interior and the staff members, who looked a bit more serious and strict than is usual for a bookstore. These initial impressions only added to our latter astonishment. Saint Hubert is more than able to keep the pace with the recent trends in modern art and this is clear to anyone who enters the store. This is the aspect that we probably liked the most, that Saint Hubert is able to combine two elements which are often viewed as contrasting - a very fancy and stylish look cut out from the 19th century and a fresh and bold attitude when it comes to stock, exhibitions and art in general.


All in all, Brussels, the capital of Europe, can indeed be classified into the category of cities with a considerable number of independent and second hand bookstores - out of which we've managed to single out the ones carrying English language titles. If you happen to speak French or Dutch then know that by exploring Brussels' bookstores even farther than we've done, you won't be left disappointed. Due to its linguistic as well as ethnic diversity, Brussels holds other specialized bookstores, for example Punto y Coma, which specializes in titles in Spanish, or Orfeu - for Portugese titles, or even Piola Libri, an all-Italian bookstore. Furthermore, Belgium produces 30 million comic-strip books annually, and exports three quarters of them. Out of the quarter that stays in Belgium, many are distributed to Brussels' comic stores - which can be found at literally any corner of the capital. Comic stores also have many imported English language comic books and graphic novels. Thus, if you are a book lover, then Brussels is definitely a place for you!



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Check out our Reports from other European cities.

The Little Taunus Bookshop, Oberursel

Where? Oberursel, Germany



Recommended by Patricia Batholomew

Patricia said: "Any true book afficiando finding themselves in tiny Oberursal, Germany, on a day trip from Frankfurt, should make time to visit the Little Taunus Bookshop. The name says it all: a quiet little bookshop tucked away in the Taunus hills. The owner, Heike Wolf, is a genuine book lover and her shelves show it. Specializing in hard to find English and French language titles, it is always a pleasure to stop by and browse Heike's selection of popular, eclectic, and hard to find titles."

Located in Oberursel, a town north west of Frankfurt, the Little Taunus Bookshop , opened in November of 2007, is a true jewel of foreign language books in Germany. Heike Wolf decided to take advantage of her previous experience with expats living in Germany and create a bookstore which would satisfy the needs and desires of any English native speaker. In 2003, she has even started a small publishing house called Fairmount Publishing which specializes in books for expats in Germany. She has managed to accomplish this ambitious task and the fact that she had to overcome the handicap of limited space (her bookstore spreads on 40 square meters, which explains the word 'little' in its name) makes the final result even more worthy of admiration. The bookstore is not overstuffed, as Heike pays special attention to a careful selection of titles which find their way to the shelves. The white interior gives away a feeling of tidiness and cleanliness - with books neatly displayed on the shelves and clearly visible to the eye.

The Little Taunus Bookshop stocks books in English, which is the characteristic language of the books in the shop, French and German. English titles, both new and second-hand make up for more than three-fourths of the store's offer. They have both a fiction and a non-fiction department, where the fiction one mostly comprises of new bestsellers, classics, crime section and a large children's books section upon which the bookstore owner takes special pride in. When it comes to non-fiction, it mainly consists of biographies, books on history, travel, business, etc. There is an emphasis on books about Germany and German language courses for people moving to the country from abroad. There is, of course, an ESL section for those who desire to improve their knowledge of the English language.

All the books in the store can be purchased online and the bookstore will more than gladly order a book which they do not have in their stock for you. It also holds occasional readings and regular group meetings and other events.

The Little Taunus Bookshop
Address:
Strackgasse 18
61440 Oberursel









Website: http://www.taunus-bookshop.de/

Phone and Email:
(06196) 952477
taunus-bookshop@hotmail.de

Working Hours:
Mon-Fri 10-13 15-18:30
Sat 10-14