Visited: 2013
Another Country is a second-hand English Language bookshop/library in Berlin. It is a little out of the centre but easy enough to find. I wanted to go there because yet again it is one of those bookshops called out for being the ‘Coolest in the World!’ and yes it’s a great place and very unique but I was a little disappointed.
Firstly, let’s look at the positives. If you buy a book, you can return it and get your money back minus €1.50, a brilliant service for the prolific reader in Berlin. And you can get a book on almost anything. It also has lots quirky displays, lovely antique bookcases and a huge science fiction collection – so that’s plenty of boxes ticked for me.
However, I felt sad on entering at the general disarray of the place. A lot of the books were torn, creased, covered in dust, strewn on the floor and it looked more like a jumble sale than a store. Maybe I caught the place on a bad day but I just felt there was a lack of care and the books were not presented in a way that made you want to buy or borrow them. And to risk further sounding like a snob the place really stank of cigarettes and overflowing ash trays of which there were a few. Whilst, I am always fully in support of places where anything goes…it was a shame the place was lacking a bit of pride.
I lefty empty handed simply because I didn’t have the time to rummage and to be honest I was struggling to breathe.
Sorry….:(
Is this a bookshop for bookish people?
Yes, I think it is but it needs some love, a bit of an airing and a waft round with a duster.
Buchhandlung Liebe Score: ♥♥
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