BOOKSHOPS

Today I will tell you about the most important bookshops in Córdoba, since it's something very interesting for everyone, everywhere we go, and sometimes we don't know where to find them. Although, in every neighborhood, there are always some small stationers that sell books, they're usually bestsellers but, in most cases, what we are interested in it's not exactly that...

Source

In Córdoba, culture is very cultivated in general: music, cinema, poetry, dance, painting... We have one of the most important music festivals, "Festival de la Guitarra", which gathers the best international and national musicians, and there are also some concerts at the different theatres. Besides, the recent festival "Música entre las flores", with more alternative and indie artists being equally good and recognised. Regarding cinema, I mentioned in other post that the Andalusian Film Library is headquartered in Córdoba, in addition to the most important African film festival in Spain, and a recent universitary study related to cinematography. Regarding poetry, or literature in general, we have the "Festival Cosmopoética", one of the most important ones in Europe, and very interesting, full of very good proposals and ideas, and, of course, great participants; and we also have Eutopía. Talking about dance, as an Andalusian city, we live for the flamenco, having some "tablaos" and very good academies, besides some live performances at the Gran Teatro. Regarding painting, one of the most passionate Spanish painters was from Córdoba, Julio Romero de Torres, so his museum is here. Moreover, the Comtemporary Art Museum is being built, which will have very important collections.

Now, we will focus on literature, I will tell you about more things at another time. Firstly, I would like to comment that in Córdoba there aren't neither one nor two book fairs, but three of them through the whole year, apart from many book stands every time a street market is organised so, as you can see, many people like reading in Córdoba.

On one hand, we have the book shop of "El Corte Inglés", it's not too big but has many copies. They are normally bestsellers, or well sold books, but also some travel guides, language books, dictionaries, mathematics or computer books, etc, organised by themes, including children's books and any kind. Prices are more or less the same than in the rest of the city. The bad thing is that there are many people and they take a long time to serve you. In addition, if they have the same price, I prefer to buy these books in some lesser bookshops, which belong to a Cordoban owner, who lives, spends money and is not a rich owner.

On the other hand, we have a bookshop called Beta, which is in the city centre. It's quite big and has a lot of books of any kind, including minor books. It has many dictionaries and a great variety of languages books, always welcome. Moreover, it has books in another languages, which is not the same as having language books. I bought the last book by J. K. Rowling in English, it's a great opportunity having this possibility, especially in a city that is not big (neither small :p).

There is also a bookshop called Séneca, located in the city centre. It's the oldest one in Córdoba, it's was located in another place before, but also in the city centre. During the recession, it started with the closing-down sell. It was a surprise that many citizens began to collect signatures to keep it open and I dont how but they finally got it, just making a move nearby, so it's still close to its previous location. It's similar to Beta and offers everything.

Source

Lastly, I will tell you about the language bookshop par excellence. It was called Puente Azul, but it recently changed its name to Planet Book. It's located on Doce de Octubre Street, in the city centre, and it's very small, so pay attention not to pass it by. You can find any language learning book in here, and if they don't have it, they can order it. They also help you in case you want to learn a new language but you aren't sure about what book you should use. If you are going to study at the EOI, you will find all of its books here, and probably, only here. I think that the UCOIdiomas books are also here. Besides, they have dictionaries, of course, games, reading books, conversational handbooks...

Let's read!

Photo gallery