Bookstores in Madrid...

One of the things I always do when traveling is check out the local bookstores. Not just the local Borders or Booksellers but also whatever independent bookstores might be around.

So I’ve been doing some research on Bookstores in Madrid and have come up with a list of shops I hope to get to while in Spain.

Casa Del Libro is a three story bookstore in the heart of Madrid. According to Frommer’s ‘…The basement offers a great selection of dictionaries and grammar books, while a ground floor alcove has an up-to-date selection of English-language literature (alongside current French, German, Italian, and Portuguese tomes). The first floor houses a well-stocked international travel section with plenty of books on Madrid.’

Cuesta de Moyano is a an outdoor market (a literary Rastro) that sits on the pavements of the Paseo del Prado. The books are are secondhand and in Spanish, but I’m not looking to buy. I just want to wander, browse, and soak in the atmosphere that has remained unchanges for decades.

J&J is an English language bookstore named after husband and wife Jamie and Javi. There’s a café on the ground floor and a basement with over 15,000 books. Gridskipper says ‘…Small, cozy. J and J's Bookstore is the second best thing to being curled up at home in your favorite chair with your favorite book. Perhaps the only cafe/library/second-hand bookstore in Madrid, J&J's has got to be one of the coolest expat hangouts in the capital.’

La Libreria de Lavapies Books is, according to Gridskipper ‘…one of the coolest bookstores I've been to. It's colorful, alternative, has a subtle though intoxicating smell, and a great though limited selection of new and secondhand books in English, Spanish, and French, including reads in art, literature, spirituality, health, sex, religion, travel, dance, theater, and fiction. It also has the largest range of Moleskine notebook on sale, some of the best postcards of the city, offbeat gift items, and children's toys.’

Hopefully I’ll get a chance to get to them all, but if I had to choose one must see it would be the Cuesta de Moyano outdoor book market…

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