Eight and a half and Lucas bookstore
There are already many book stores where wingback chairs, vintage tables, musical notes, Italian coffee machines, aging bottles and beer taps have slipped in. A trend that the regulars of the streets of Madrid have incorporated as an essential delight to their routine.
Through its large windows, enchanting atmospheres are announced that invite lost in thought among the pages of countless titles of careful editions and that give rise to brainy gatherings, writing workshops, presentations, language exchange and, why not, nonsense.
The neighborhoods of Lavapies and Malasana have become perfectly fertile ground for the proliferation of these spaces dedicated to the ritual of reading and the trade of conversation between coffees, sweets and cocktails.
Few activities are so pleasant -and romantic- like sitting in front of a café to share the silence of a good read. This is our selection of bookstores where the pages are turned with wet lips:
Infamous Types: Books and Wines
Infamous Types (San Joaquin, 3) . His shop window on Calle de San Joaquín in Malasaña quickly became the place to be seen, book and glass in hand, since its opening in October 2010. The triad of friends Curro Llorca, Alfonso Tordesillas, and Gonzalo Queipo decided, during a pool game, unite a great couple under the same roof: alternative literature and impeccable wines.
A diaphanous space that has two floors: the first full of shelves, a bar and hundreds of books; the one below, open to the crowd literary and artistic events . Here we have been able to see exhibitions, the latest in national literature, presentations by young publishers with a lot of class, televised interviews and even the celebration of fairytale birthdays.
The central (San Martin gate, 8) . The latest Madrid franchise of the Barcelona bookstore is for now the plus portentous in offer and space . Linked to artistic spaces, the Central de Callao has found a 1,200 m2 mansion where more than 70,000 copies are housed, with care and skill, that tell us about classy literature, as well as philosophy, social sciences and history. Not one, but two are the places of recreation: El Bistró restaurant and El Garito cocktail bar.
La Central: new temple for moderns in Callao
The Fugitive (Saint Elizabeth, 7) . Since 2009, this bookstore, neighboring the Spanish Film Library, has welcomed its faithful in its windows. They show off metallic tables, mismatched chairs and wooden floors that they could well be found in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg or Paris's Montmartre.
Huge windows that propose a cozy experience , especially on days when Madrid deigns to let it rain. A selection of cakes, biscuits and other tartlets accompany tea and coffee with a good aroma . The raw material? Without bordering on the excessive, the copies you find here stand out for their exquisite edition. Along the same lines as the rest, select literary presentations and events are common for an audience that is not very fond of crowds.
La Fugitiva: cakes, biscuits and books without bordering on the excessive
the infinity (Three Fishes 22) . This cafe is in the heart of Madrid and whatever the time of day, you can enjoy some tapas. You can accompany it with the selection of wines that La infinite offers, or with top quality draft beers.
Not everything has to be alcohol, they also offer a wide variety of juices and natural smoothies, as well as different coffee and tea specialties. Homemade pastries, fantastic brunches, breakfasts or snacks in a relaxed atmosphere, they do not hurt to accompany a good book.
Also this cafe-bookstore organizes cultural activities and workshops, and if you don't want to miss out, you should check the agenda on its website.
La infinity: Tapas, wines and a good book
Outburst Books (La Palma, 21). Among hundreds of books – they do not hide their weakness for poetry –, the owners of Arrebato defend the alternative edition tooth and nail: out-of-prints, self-published, short-run magazines and fanzines . Its origin takes us back to the end of the nineties, in Barcelona, when the Arrebato magazine was born, dedicated to comics and poetry.
In Madrid, it has been operating for eight years as a bookstore specialized in artistic magazines and editorial rarities, with a catalog of some 20,000 titles. Without premeditation or treachery, the sofas, the talks and a coffee maker that works piecework throughout the day have carved a niche . Its activities include poetic actions, presentations, colloquiums, literary quotes and even a poetry festival (it is now in its fourth edition).
SCRIPTS AND GIN TONICS
The good life (Vergara, 10). Next to the Royal Palace, in Madrid's Austrias, the bookstore has just celebrated five years. Gonzalo, David and Estrella offer their suggestions to the reader, while serving Delicious Italian-scented coffee, well-drafted beers, or restorative gin and tonics . In the background, a soundtrack according to any reading.
In addition to concerts, presentations and projections, its shelves offer a multicolored library print: illustration, national and international novel, underground titles, international press, music and movies (100-150 titles that are updated) . You'll find volumes under the labels of cinema, journalism, poetry, travel, theater, music, graphic novel and titles in French and English. You can lounge on its cushions until midnight each day. Film directors, writers and intellectuals, residents of the poetic neighborhood of Ópera, who are among its parishioners, know this well.
The Good Life: scripts and gin and tonics
Eight and a half (Martin of the Heroes, 11). First came his love for the seventh art. With him the bookstore, in 1978, in the basement where the Alphaville Cinemas were located. In the street of the cinemas in original version, Ocho y Medio has become the reference point for cinephile literature worldwide , with a background of about 150,000 titles (essay, biographies, screenplays, novels).
They convene presentations, organize monologues, meetings, gatherings and publish their own books. Incorporated years later, Via Margutta cafe (the Roman street where Fellini established his residence for years), complied with an understandable –and finally understood– demand from his parishioners. Their letter full of cinematographic winks satisfy snacks and appetizers.
Eight and a half bookstore
IN THE ORIGINAL VERSION
J&J Books and Coffee (Espíritu Santo, 47) The married couple made up of the Spaniard Javi and the American Jaime gave free rein to their dream in December 2003, when they opened this bookstore specializing in Anglo-Saxon letters . The couple flew to Los Angeles to get thousands of second-hand copies that would occupy the recently assembled shelves of an old Chinese restaurant, in the heart of Malasaña. Craft beers and American cocktails they animate the days of language exchanges and Quiz sessions, the popular version of Trivial.
Italiana Madrid: books and fine Italian coffee
Italian Madrid (Corredera Baja de San Pablo, 10) In another corner of the Malasaña neighborhood, three splendid people coexist: the fine Italian coffee, wine from the transalpine country and a good handful of books written in the language of Dante . Luca Scala, in charge of this tribute to Italy, is always ready to recommend the best cake of the day –there is no mistake with the carrot and the chocolate one– accompanied by a real cappuccino.