If there is something that I truly worship an inveterate and nostalgic reader They are second-hand bookstores. as i said Virginia Woolf second-hand books are wild Books, homeless; they have congregated in vast masses of variegated feathers, and possess a charm lacking in the domesticated volumes from the library. And he was not without reason, perhaps that is why the used book has been the true survivor of the globalized world and the consumer society.
But second-hand bookstores are anything else, go a step beyond the concept of business and merchandise. These little houses of letters are an example and justification that a sustainable model It is possible that There is not pandemic no crisis that can with cultural exchange or philanthropy. And this sets them apart from the rest. not just for the almost musky smell that give off its walls, fruit of the cellulose wear of each page and each volume by hundreds of anonymous hands that have already enjoyed them. Because each second hand book it has its own story.
Outburst Books, Madrid.
Second-hand bookstores also they have been able to adapt to the times to the extent that consumers of this type of book do. now even many book houses used serve coffees, in small reserved spaces, perhaps longing for those times of artists' coffee that he portrayed so well Camilo Jose Cela in the fifties. Today we talk about some of these temples of knowledge that should never go away.
RAPTURE (Palma, 21. Madrid)
It is one of the flagships of the second-hand bookshops in the center of Madrid. Located in the neighborhood of Malasana, Arrebato has a considerable selection of second-hand books and discontinued In very good condition. In 2007 they embarked on the adventure of become your own publisher and give the possibility to poets and creators to better connect with the general public. perform authors' days with all kinds of exchange activities, feeding the independent spirit with which they open their doors every day.
The Asylum of the Book, Valencia.
SELVAGGIO (Frenería, 12. Barcelona)
It was born in the 50's as a small antique shop located in the Sant Antoni market. Its founder, a young man of Italian blood, decided to materialize his passion for books and paper, and turned this small place in Barcelona into a whole temple of buying and selling old books. Today, Selvaggio is like a jump in time, a trunk still open where they can be found surprisingly cards, cards and photographs of other times.
THE ASYLUM OF THE BOOK (Sant Ferran, 14. Valencia)
It looks old and smells old. That is part of the DNA of the second-hand book and we love it. The city of the Turia hides next to the Central Market this bookstore reminiscent of the old ones, with large shelves that reach almost to the ceiling, full of books waiting to receive a new life. It is also specialized in old and second-hand books and is often visited by collectors hunters of some rarity. There are many second-hand bookstores in Valencia, but none like this one. Also, usually present at all fairs and old book events.
'Journey on foot', by Josep Pla, at Librería Castro (Barcelona).
CASTRO (Josep Estivill, 40. Barcelona)
You have to go back to the year 1941 when it first opened Martin Plaster Castro his bookstore in the neighborhood of Raval . A decade later he would be located in Aribau street where he would remain half century until you navigate to your current location. Today it is a mecca of pilgrimage for those readers looking for oddities, curiosities and antiques, many of them laminated in order to achieve better conservation. Also, if you manage to find the book you want on their website, they can do it for you. get home wherever you live, but you would miss their hallways full of books and antiques. You would miss its essence.
BOATERS (Boteros, 14. Seville)
That Alfalfa Square Seville It's an amazing tapas place, it's no secret. But the same thing that more than one traveler overlooks is that it is an area of the Seville capital where many lofty bookstores. And Boteros is one of them, a space for cultural exchange run by Daniel Cruz that has become a reference since it opened its doors back in 2015. This used book house, which in its day It was a tailor shop it looks like an anthill tertullians who take advantage of the comfort of the sofa to talk about literature and art under a jumble of books from other times, from other hands and other knowledge.
Astarloa Bookstore, Bilbao.
YOUR BOOKSTORE (Padilla, 78 and Ambassadors, 11. Madrid)
with the motto “You decide what you pay for the books”, Alejandro León decided to start his second-hand book project in 2012 thanks to donations and voluntary contributions. mountains of books are stacked by genre and language in a bookstore where it is the buyer who sets the price for the books he wants to take.
It may seem a bit chaotic, but if you search well it is easy to find real treasures, many of them reconditioned, since sometimes they are received in quite poor condition. Also you can stay there reading without any kind of commitment. They came to have three bookstores in Madrid and one in Barcelona. Unfortunately there are only two open bookstores left in the capital Due to the lack of donations and collaboration, could it be that altruism is being lost?
ASTARLOA (Astarloa, 4. Bilbao)
It is undoubtedly one of the most important old and second-hand bookstores in our country. Founded in 1992 this bookstore Bilbao is also specialized in antiques. In fact, he jumped into the media last January for having sold an incunabulum from the year 1493 to the Ministry of Transport for nothing more and nothing less than €55,000. But don't be scared, in this little antique corner you can buy used books for just a couple of euros. Used books but also old posters, maps and some collectibles. We could say that in addition to being a house of old and used books, Astarloa is a real museum.
Second-hand books by weight in La Casquería, Madrid.
EXTRA! EXTRA! SOME CURIOUS BOOKSTORES
They are small, they go unnoticed but they are a perfect extra within that range of bookstores that break with the conventional:
THE OFFERING (Ambassadors, 41. Madrid) . The concept of sustainability raised to the nth power. A position of San Fernando Market converted into a bookstore that sells books by weight, on a scale, literally. Imagine a kilo of books at 10 euros. It is possible, it is real and it is sustainable. Oh, and in the San Fernando Market you can also stay tapping with your new purchase. Can you ask for more?
THE BOOK CABIN (Francisco de Quevedo, 8. Zaragoza) . Let's make room for textbooks, the great forgotten when we talk about second-hand books. La Cabaña del libro is one of the great bookstores specializing in this genre, with some 8,000 references from all publishers. It began by revolutionizing the capital of the Ebro and now dominates the land of the marketplace In the net. It's the typical place where everyone goes when textbooks are missing.
Baena Bookstore, Seville.
BAENA BOOKSTORE (Fair, 26. Seville) . Worthy mention must also be made of the comics secondhand. This bookstore, very close to the Palace of the Duenas, is a reference point for lovers of comics, sleeve and of classic comic. It is also known as the "Store of novels" since the buying novel is another of his cover letters.