This is the second bookstore that I came across in downtown São Paulo. I almost missed it because of its non-descript facade.

The size of the store and the neighborhood in which it is located (Rua Oscar Freire) reminded me of SoHo in New York and Rizzoli on West Broadway (closed since late 2000’s).

The store has a total of three levels, the entrance being the middle level.

The plan of the shop is long and narrow-ish and there are “holes” between the levels.

Lining the sides of the holes are book shelves. This is the view from the top level looking down through a rectangular hole onto the street level.

There is a circular void between the street level and the lower level.

Looking up from the lower level.

There was, what I presume, a book tour talk in the basement auditorium. It was packed. The author (male) was speaking French while the interviewer (female) was doing an instant translation into Portuguese and asking questions.

The three floors are connected by an elevator that is made to look like a storage room filled with books.

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The top floor sells mostly CDs and DVDs.

The top floor also contains a cafe with a small outdoor seating area.

There are listening stations here and there.

Luckily, when I took these pictures, the people were all in the auditorium. About 15 minutes after I walked in, the talk was over and the store were filled with people enjoying wine and finger food.

Helpful staff too – I bought a 10-CD box set of Brazilian pop music – a nice compilation of traditional as well as electro versions of Bossa Nova, Samba and Timbalada.