Livraria Cultura @ Shopping Iguatemi, São Paulo

This is the third bookstore that I came across in my two-and-a half-day stay in São Paulo. This Livraria Cultura is situated in one of the more luxury shopping malls in town (Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton are its neighbors).

Livraria in mall-1

Like the shop they have in downtown on Avenida Paulista (see my post here), the entrance is unassuming. At the entrance level, they sell music and DVDs.

Livraria in mall-2

The mezzanine level, aptly named as the “Geek” department, sells comics, games and fan toys.

Livraria in mall-4

When the escalator reaches level “3”, I was brought into this one massive room.

Livraria in mall-5

It is a vast reading area with orange comfy chairs.

Livraria in mall-6

At one end there is a series of wooden “steps” that can serve as rows of seats – I imagine the space can host a performance or readings with an audience of more than 200 people.

Livraria in mall-8

If Apple is to start selling physical books, I can imagine them building a store like this one.

Livraria in mall-7

I spoke briefly with a shop keeper (in English) and apparently, the shop is barely a month old (I was there in October 2013).

Livraria in mall-9

Unfortunately most books are in Portuguese …

Livraria in mall-10

Unlike NYC, the existence of Amazon, Kindle and Nook did not seem to affect the brick-and-mortar bookstore in São Paulo. I did see people using e-readers but the physical bookstores appeared to be thriving.

Livraria in mall-11

It is a beautiful shop full of beautiful books in a beautiful mall. See the guards at the entrance ?

Livraria in mall-20

See the other Paulista bookstores here and here.

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