Want to know my personal all-time favourite and a must-visit for any culture vulture visiting or living in Berlin? This is it, the ‘culture store’ in Berlin’s central Friedrichstrasse, KK (KulturKaufhaus) Dussmann. I’ve been coming here practically every Friday after work, to celebrate the start of the weekend 🙂 There are two things I like […]
This bookstore, whose name translates from Portuguese as ‘read slowly’, should be visited at least for its extraordinary design. Located in a former industrial hub in what is now known as LXFactory (the hippest and most creative space in Lisbon), this sizable shop boasts a large X-shaped staircase, old industrial printing machines and curious sculptures […]
My first impressions of Berlin were formed thanks to Vladimir Nabokov. In his short stories, Berlin was often another literary hero, personified, moody, cooperative towards the protagonists or not. My most favourite short story ever, called “Blagost” (“Beneficence”), features Brandenburger Tor as a setting where the action takes place and the hero undergoes a personal […]
How about visiting the oldest operating bookstore in the world? Livraria Bertrand in Lisbon (Rua Garrett 73, Lisbon 1200-203, Portugal), opened its doors as far back as 1732! Established by a Frenchman living in Lisbon, this store has had a long and incredibly interesting life, from changing owners to devastating earthquake and being a […]
This is so far my favourite bookstore. It is THAT good, trust me! Elliott Bay is an independently owned bookstore in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle. Founded in 1973, it is the cultural hub of the area, with numerous events such as storytime, book club meetings, signings etc. and over 150,000 titles displayed on […]
Unfortunately, Prague remains a very tourist-focused destination, with such consequences as sky-rocketing prices in the popular areas and general commodification of culture (Kafka and Å vejk are everywhere, from postcards and totes to names of cafes and pubs). The saddest part is that I doubt even 10 per cent of all this mass of people visiting […]
Both museums are located next to each other and belong to the German Literature Archive, whose goal is to “acquire, collect and make accessible unique pieces of writing and images and objects related to German-language literature and intellectual history from the eighteenth century to the present.” What this basically means is that most exhibits are […]
Besides housing one the most important German art pieces of the 20th century (I am referring to Otto Dix’s Großstadt, of course), Stuttgart’s Kunstmuseum also has one of the best art bookstores I’ve been to in my life. According to the museum, they have been able to win the nationally renowned bookseller, Fachbuchhandlung Walther König, […]
This is the place for when you are craving some reading food and are on a tight budget. Although the English section of this second-hand bookstore is not very large (but still quite extensive compared to most Stuttgart bookstores), it is always changing. Actually, it is updated a lost faster than English sections in “normal” […]
This bookshop has been a landmark in the famous Latin Quarter, a student district of Paris, since 1845. Located in Boulevard Saint-Michel, it has outdoor stalls and several floors inside with a huge choice of second-hand books (paperbacks, art books, comics, mangas), CDs, records and DVDs at affordable prices. Locals adore this store – grannies, […]