The Book-Buying Experience in Spain

All of us who love books are familiar with the book-buying experience in England. In shops such as Foyles or Waterstones the emphasis is on the time to browse, the comfort of the space and in short the pleasure of being surrounded by books. Having worked in a large high street bookshop in Madrid for the last 3 months of my time abroad I can say that, although at first glance it would appear fairly similar to an English shop, the book buying experience is altogether different.

Above is a photo of the ground floor of Casa del Libro; the shop I worked in as an intern bookseller. The interior of the shop, like an English bookshop, is geared towards a good browsing experience; the lighting is warm, there are soft chairs and the books are organised by author's surname to ensure it's easy to find the one you need. But that's where the similarities end.

In England browsing is an artform; I for one can while away a good 2 hours just wandering from shelf to shelf taking down books that catch my eye. The Spanish are much more direct when it comes to books. Once a customer caught sight of an oversized green tabard (such as the one Miguel is modelling in the photo above) they made a beeline for whoever was wearing it to ask for the book they were after to be brought to them. They had no interest in browsing seemingly intent on by-passing it altogether. So unused to browsing were they that many people were unable to find a book by themselves even with signs denoting the shop's sections and shelves.

Maybe it's just the English dislike of talking to strangers but I know that as a matter of pride I would much rather try to find a book for myself and only then ask an attendant if I couldn't find it. Doesn't it also take the pleasure out of being in the shop if you ask someone else to find a book for you? The majority of the customers in Casa del Libro treated book-buying like shopping for any other product they needed. Many had done research on the internet beforehand and came knowing the exact title they wanted, asked for it at the front desk, waited for it to be brought to them and then headed straight for the cash register. Less a pleasurable bookish experience and more a quick trip to argos!

This is of course a generalisation and there were plenty of people who also spent significant amounts of time just enjoying being in the shop and seeing what was on offer. It was interesting to see though that on the whole buying a book in Madrid seems to be a much quicker, more practical task than in England.

One of my favourite bookshops in Madrid, Desperate Literature, attempts to counter this attitude to books. In my mind there's a fine line between creating a space that's too twee or a bit naff and a welcoming, cosy shop. The trouble it seems comes when the books begin to take second place to the pottery workshops/biscuit baking/finger painting etc. Desperate Literature manages to keep the focus firmly on the books while maintaining a varied calendar of popular events for its customers. Run by a couple from France and England respectively; an un-hurried, relaxed browsing experience is their top priority. International customers seem to embrace this wholeheartedly though I have seen a couple of Spanish visitors unsure what to do when offered a cup of tea while browsing...

This just goes to show that the Spanish aren't reluctant to adopt new practices when it comes to books. The idea of the cosy, comfy English/French bookshop is now becoming a fixture on the Spanish scene. Plenty of Spaniards have enjoyed spending time browsing for their books in shops like this for years. Take the Calle de Claudio Moyano bookstalls for instance; many a madrileño's idea of heaven on a sunny morning. What is clear, however, is that the large chain bookstores with their high footfall and impeccable customer service aren't going to slow down anytime soon.

Casa del Libro, Gran Vía, 29. 28013 Madrid

Desperate Literature, Calle Campomanes, 13, 28013 Madrid