Fahrenheit 451: a traveling bookstore has been born in Barcelona.
Bookstores are missing, we always say it. More paper books and more dealings with booksellers are missing , that figure that is losing weight in favor of the digital world, which also has its benefits. We will not deny it.
For this reason, we greatly celebrate the opening of a bookstore as if it were a party, and even more so if it is a project as original as that of Fahrenheit 451, a traveling bookstore that leaves from La Barceloneta to go to different points of the city and the outskirts.
The idea was born in Sitges in 2019 by the booksellers Azra Ibrahimovic and Sergio Lledó . Azra, from whom the idea came, has a long career as a choreographer in the performing arts and production of events and festivals, and Sergio has a degree in Theory of Literature and has been working in the publishing world for 20 years. So it seemed possible that this duo could create something different and original around the books.
"The idea arose at the beginning of 2019 in Sitges, in response to the absence of bookstores in a city that is presumed to be a cultural enclave, but whose real estate market makes a project like this prohibitive if it is not eminently lucrative," they explain to Traveler. .is their owners.
And this October 13 was when it also opened its doors in Barcelona , in the old premises of the Black and Criminal bookstore that closed in 2015 (Calle de la Sal, 5). It is from this headquarters that the other part of the project starts, the traveling bookstore that promises to be a temple of publishing culture.
“Roaming is born out of necessity, but has ended up becoming a kind of militancy. It is our way of dignifying the work of the bookseller and making other literature known in environments that usually have less access to it, promoting human contact and direct and personal treatment, advice and socialization, in a head-on clash with the current trend of isolation and treatment through screens and social networks”, they add.
First stop Barceloneta.
The bookstore is general but its objective is offer independent titles that are difficult to access and distribute in those places where there are no bookstores . “We have had a wonderful reception among the population, who are very grateful to be able to enjoy a bookstore where they can find quality titles and some booksellers who end up becoming your friends. They are also surprised and excited when they come and see that our caravan does not sell food , but books and they really like that we adorn even more the beautiful coastal landscape with our presence”.
In order to keep track of them, it is best to enter their social networks or contact them through their email. “ We will soon have a website ready where you can reserve the available titles and arrange collection points and direct sales, as well as organize cultural activities”.