Another Country

10961 Riemannstr. 7, near the Geneisenaustr. U-Bahn.

Another Country has a great selection, particularly if you're into science fiction. Alex, the English guy who runs the place is a bit quirky, but after a few visits he'll warm up to you. There seems to be a system for returning books you've bought at the store for credit, with color-coded labels to indicate how much you'll get back, but I'm fairly sure Alex makes them up on the spot. Venture downstairs for the sci-fi books, but be prepared to pay a premium for some: a reading group that meets there has precedence.

Bookstore Basics

You will never be at a loss for places to buy books in Berlin. The most extravagant of these is Dussmann at Friedrichstrasse: three floors of books and music, listening stations, etc. During the week they are open until 10 p.m., can you believe it? Even if you’re not really looking for anything in particular, it’s a nice place to go if you need to be out of the house but don’t want to sit around in cigarette smoke in some bar.

However: for special orders I like to go to smaller, local stores because they need my business more than the giants do. If an independent store doesn’t have something, they can order it, usually within a few days (sometimes overnight) for no cost.

If you like to browse for old books, you will find a used book store in every commercial area in Berlin as well as tucked into a lot of residential streets. If you don’t have time to browse or aren’t having any luck, try the Zentrales Verzeichnis Antiquarischer Bücher. This great search engine will tell you who has your book, what shape it’s in, and will let you compare prices. You can order from stores around Germany, or just use it to find a book in Berlin.