Bookstores in St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg is a city of readers. There are quite a few bookshops selling Russian-language books, both original and in translation. Other than the highlights below, there's also the Bukvoed chain which dominates the market with dozens of stores all over the city.The situation is somewhat less rosy when it comes to foreign books, including books in English. Foreign-book sections of St. Petersburg bookstores are often relegated to the back of the store, their selection is limited, and the prices normally exceed what's printed on the cover, with some books selling for as much as double the cover price… or more. It seems that, for whatever reason, St. Petersburg booksellers are determined to make sure they are not competitive in the face of competition from the Internet and mail order. Nevertheless, a few stores (listed below) can still be recommended – at least for an exploratory visit.
In terms of sheer quantity, the House of Books (Дом Книги / Dom Knigi) on Nevsky definitely wins the race, although one would be hard-pressed to find something on its shelves that wouldn't also be in stock at a provincial Barnes & Nobles outlet.
The selection is more interesting at Podpisnye Izdaniya (Liteynyi pr., 57), and the store even has a non-trivial paperback section for those reading in languages other than English (French, Spanish, German, Italian), but the quantity is less here and the prices "bite" just a little bit more, to use a Russian colloquial expression.
- Anglia
- Bookbridge
- Fahrenheit 451 (Mayakovskogo Street, 25 )
- House of Books
- Knigi i Kofe (Gagarinskaya Ulitsa, 20 )
- Podpisnye Izdaniya (Liteynyi Avenue, 57 )
Page ID: bookstores_spb_ru
Link to self: Bookstores in St. Petersburg
