A perfect bookstore chain for me? I found it. It’s the Estonian Rahva Raamat, which boasts the most stylish bookshops I have ever been to. The two that I visited are located in the center of Tallinn – one store is in the Old Town and the other one in the Viru Keskus shopping mall.
The store in the Old Town was actually opened in 1912, and has been recently voted among the top three book stores in the world by London Book Fair. According to the store, the Old Town Rahva Raamat has survived very difficult times. 17 years ago, employees were forced by real estate developers to close the store, but hundreds of protesters were able to stop the planned demolition. The shop in the Viru Keskus shopping mall is a recent opening and is one the largest bookstores I have ever visited. Both of them boast a classy cafe and – tadam! – the prettiest design ever seen by me in a bookstore. It’s fucking art deco! In a bookstore! I absolutely adored the dark green and gold colors, brass decorative elements, stocky wooden shelves, wicker shopping carts. It was so inspiring I was making lists with design ideas for my own apartment.
Now to the other important thing – the choice of books. Here again, the store is probably one of the best when it comes to the variety of English books on offer. I came here with a checklist and was able to find everything. Moreover, the amount of new arrivals was really impressive. There is division into categories and each category is well represented by all time favorites as well as recent editions. The books are balanced on the shelves, not overcrowded like in some other bookstores.
The Literaat cafe inside the bookstores offers decadent drinks and desserts, and is generally a great spot for having a date night or a reading/writing session. I was able to pick up many books that I had been hunting for in Rahva Raamat stores. I literally spent like third of my vacation in them, and the same goes for my travel budget 🙂 I highly recommend this chain. Believe me, you will be coming back to these stores for more literary and esthetic pleasure.
The Old Town store is located at Pärnu mnt 10, the Viru Keskus one in the corresponding shopping mall at Viru väljak 4-6.
