Where to find books in English in Berlin?

No.2 – Dussmann’s English Bookshop: Two floors of well-selected fiction and non-fiction.

Fair warning: You’ll not only find here what you’re looking for, but also what you hadn’t been looking for. Look for the recommendations on the central table in the downstairs fiction section, then head upstairs to nonfiction and the comfy window seats.

There are 10 (!) shelves of foodbooks, including half a shelf on “food writing” (i.e. not recipe books) – not massive, but thumbs up for acknowledging the category! In the opposite corner, next to the Classics and Poetry, is a full shelf unit of books on writing.

The shop is a treasure trove for creative nonfiction books, but they are not grouped together. They show up in the various sections – food books, popular science, women’s (i.e. feminist) writing, travel … and I often see essay collections (“50 Best New American Essays”) and such on the recommendation table on the ground floor.

Upstairs in the English Bookshop

It’s impossible to single out highlights of their collection because it’s all a blaze of glory. I recently got from here Bee Wilson’s Consider the Fork (definitely recommended for foodnerds!) and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, and I am throwing beady eyes on Rebecca Solnit’s Wanderlust (and/or Men Explain Things to Me …).

The English Bookshop is part of Dussmann’s Kulturkaufhaus, which offers four floors of quality books (mostly in German), music and films. There is even a separate shop for sheet music on the other side of the building. You can reach the English Bookshop through the ground floor of the main store, or through a separate entrance in the side street (turn the corner at the music window).

Travel guides in English are featured in the extensive travel section of the main store, by the way, anything from Lonely Planets to obscure books on the continuing legacy of the Knights Templar on contemporary Lisbon.

Not least: note the fantastic opening times! #latenightbookshopping

Dussmann’s English Bookshop
Friedrichstr. 90, 10117 Berlin
U Friedrichstraße
Mon – Fri 09.00 – 24.00 h
Sat              09.00 – 23.30 h

Tell me: When do you like to go shopping for books? Do you go out specially, or always keep an eye out?