A Run on the (Book) Shops - Spain
At the Intersection of Reading and Running
In order to spend more time with the family I’m always searching for ways to combine my hobbies. On a recent trip to Spain (a 40th Birthday gift from my wife) I think I’ve landed on an ideal combination. Running (or walking) and books!
As a bibliophile, when I travel to a new city or a new country I read books set in the target location or books written by authors from the destination. Spain has been a particular treasure trove: Cathedral of the Sea, The Sun Also Rises, Don Quixote, Homage to Catalunya (and many more that a genuine fan of Spanish literature will be able to point me to).
A well-known co-morbidity of bibliophilia is bookshop dependance. I am a poster child for both illnesses and the only challenge of loving a city’s bookshops is the limited time I get to visit them. With a day full of cultural sites and 20K+ steps, dragging the family to another bookshop to gawk over their design and curation can become a hard sell. I want to see as many of these shops as possible, but I don’t want to endure the wrath of a hAngry seven year old.
Enter the other hobby! Why walk when you can run to these shops? Or ‘trundle’ in my case! With an hour or so before the family wakes I can make my way to multiple bookshops. In Spain (thanks to their love of books and bookshops) I was able to make it to at least three different bookshops each morning! The only challenge: Spanish book shops tend to open after 10am. Regardless, I was able to locate the shops, review the aesthetics (AKA: lurk on their shop windows to decide if they were worth returning when open) and build out a mental map for when I AM able to sell a visit to my family!
Barcelona:
Casa De Libre
Huge bookstore - like a Barnes & Noble but with more heart (in my opinion)! This huge chain bookshop has more than 60 locations throughout Spain - I enjoyed their solid English book section (since the only one in our household who speaks Spanish is the 7yo. You can find their locations here.
La Central
Didn’t go in as we were on our way to walk round Montjuic but the aesthetic was on point as was their combination of coffee with the bookshop - why can we not rent a room here?
Madrid:
Calle de Las Huertas and the Barrio de las Letras (Literary Quarter)
We stayed on “The Street of Las Huertas (rural or rustic garden or kitchen) street in the Barrio de las Letras (Quarter of Letters or Literary Quarter)
The streets are paved in gold - lines from famous authors are imprinted in gold lettering throughout the quarter - watch for other pedestrians, fast moving cars and the odd pickpocket when staring down at your feet the whole time
Desperate Literature
This was the highlight of my literary trip to Spain. I’d read about Desperate Literature over a year ago while prepping for this trip. The owner, Charlotte, was more than willing to give a tour, give the history of the shop and recommend different books for our 7 year old son! They are also doing a fundraiser to help with a timely move and expansion. Read about it and pitch in here:
Re-Read
A chain store that focuses on used books sounded and looked so good but we were so out of time that the little guy was in real danger of falling asleep in his fried Squid tapas if we didn’t keep moving
Liberia Bohindra
Another shop I would have enjoyed visiting based on its overflowing look and the list of alternative topics listed on its sign board
Bonus Non-Bookshop - Restaurant Botin - Where Hemingway Ate (I guess)
I already wrote my thoughts about A Sun Also Rises and they are what they are. But it is still cool to visit a restaurant this old (founded 1725) which also has ties to so many legendary literary figures.
And the final farewell - Library of Spain
A run to the Library of Spain, located on the beautiful Paseo de Madrid. With columns like those, you know there are some GREAT old books waiting to be rediscovered inside! Alas, this was a travel day and we were on our way to Granada before they were open.
Granada:
Granada's bookshops are located around the Cathedral of Granada - I was able to run to four different shops in one day and we visited two of them in person (though one was closed for inventory).
Libreria Moriarty
Another great shop with a thoughtful selection of books and fantastic cat-theme. In a departure from books (which were beginning to get heavy in our luggage) I opted for six catpomorphized illustrations of famous authors. Five pictured as one was already sent to a close friend by the time of this writing!
Il Tempo Perdido
This was one of the sharpest looking shops I saw in Spain, but as luck would have it - they were closed to do inventory! I would have watched them do it but the 7yo might have considered this “boring”.
There are many more shops than these but I was delighted to reach the ones I did! I’m also excited to be able to combine two hobbies that previously seemed nearly irreconcilable. I plan to take this approach when visiting new cities/countries going forward!