As an international city, Berlin is not in short supply of English-language bookstores. Although you can find a nice selection of English texts at chain sellers like Dussmann and Press P&B Books, the best English bookshops are nestled throughout the city’s international districts and run by equally interesting folks.
Shakespeare and Sons
Located in Friedrichshain, Shakespeare and Sons is a pillar in the Berlin literary community. The shop carries used and new English-language books and is home to Fine Bagels, a bakery serving authentic New York-style bagels.
The books
The owner Roman Kratochvila worked in several bookstores in his native Czech Republic. He then moved to Paris, where the legendary Shakespeare and Company inspired him to open his own bookshop. In 2002, Shakespeare and Sons began in a former brothel in Prague’s Vrsovice neighborhood. He then went on to open a second store in Berlin in 2011. The shop provides a great selection of general English books and curated sections for Berlin readers that are also available on their website.
The bagels
In 2013, Fine Bagels opened inside Shakespeare and Sons and filled a bagel-sized hole in Berlin’s gastro scene. Roman’s partner Laurel Beth began Fine Bagels when she found herself “living in the first-class bagel desert of Berlin,” as she put it in a recent interview. Her family started baking bagels when her great-great-grandfather moved them from Warsaw to New York City in 1897. Over a hundred years later, Laurel Beth has returned to the old world with her recipes. You can catch a glimpse of these beautiful bagels in my ‘At a Glance’ post for David Sedaris’s The Best of Me.
Saint George’s English Bookstore
Situated in Prenzlauer Berg, Saint George’s English Bookstore is Berliner’s go-to spot for secondhand books. Cambridge-born owner Paul Gurner buys most of his stock from US and UK wholesalers, allowing him to carry a broader selection of English texts. Whenever searching for specific books, I was often pleasantly surprised that they almost always had them in stock. During one of my last visits, I got my hands on a book I had wanted for years entitled The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. As an added plus, I also purchased Three Elegies for Kosovo for a discounted price because it had previously been bought and resold back to the shop. One of Saint George’s best features is that the shopkeepers will purchase their own used books back from customers at half price for store credit and resell the titles at a discount.
In an interview with Exberliner magazine, Paul Gurner expressed recent setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Saint George’s is nearly 20 years old and a staple of the Prenzlauer Berg district community. I urge English-language book readers to get out to the bookshop and support Paul during this time.
Curious Fox
Like Saint George’s English Bookstore, Curious Fox carries used and new books and buys secondhand texts from customers. The bookshop recently moved from Neukölln to Kreuzberg, where owners Orla Baumgarten and David Gordon host poetry and music nights, book clubs and more. Despite both being from Ireland, Orla and David met at a bookstore in Berlin and decided to open their own shop.
Their multifaceted store is a great place to not only buy books but also support local artists. I first stumbled upon Curious Fox during a photography exhibition hosted by The Embassy of Ireland. The event featured pieces from six Irish street photographers on display in windows of Irish-owned businesses throughout Berlin. Curious Fox also stocks locally-made totes and postcards. On my last visit, I bought a postcard made by local graphic designer Kaitlyn Parkerwith whom I later crossed paths.
The Berlin Book Nook
The Berlin Book Nook is a cozy used bookshop tucked onto a quiet Neukölln backstreet. The store is the perfect spot to drop into on a lazy Sunday afternoon and is likely the most affordable shop on this list. The shelves are packed with used English-language books in a variety of different genres. Alexander Hamilton and William Parker, a British-American couple who owns the shop, have been part of the community for nearly a decade, which is evident when visiting the store. During one of my last visits, they had a steady stream of friends and returning customers dropping in to say hello. Alexander, an Oxford-educated linguist, also offers one-on-one German-language lessons for interested customers.
Otherland
Founded in 1998, Otherland is a specialty bookshop carrying science fiction, horror, comics and fantasy texts in English and German. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Otherland hosted regular readings for Berlin’s science fiction community and had numerous notable authors visit, including Terry Pratchett and George R.R. Martin. Beyond the books, Otherland is also well-located, with Marheineke Markthalle just across the street and Viktoriapark a 10-minute walk away.