Exams are over, essays are submitted, the sun is (sporadically) shining: summer offers the opportunity to put aside heavy academic texts and engage with a different kind of reading. For me, that’s been Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun, a book I picked up in April at Trinity’s second-hand book sale and have managed only recently to pluck from the brown paper bag which housed it these last weeks. The book sale is a utopic event held every spring in Trinity’s Exam Hall, but all year round, Trinity’s environs are rich with bookshops, from the classic to the lesser known but equally loveable. Here’s a countdown of five literary spots within walking distance of the college to fulfill your summer reading needs.
Books Upstairs
If your daily commute involves a bus which passes D’Olier Street, like mine, you’ll definitely have noticed this first pick. Books Upstairs’ blue entrance and simple lettering are unassuming and undersell the range and richness which lies within. It offers works of fiction, philosophy, history, feminism, LGBT+ writing, poetry, and an array of literary magazines and journals. Its sale area downstairs offers books for bargain prices. The café on the top floor doesn’t have a huge variety, but it does offer a calm environment to enjoy a new book.
The café boasts signs telling patrons that it is “free from wifi” and a space for “reading, talking, and drinking coffee”. Usually, this sort of sign in a café can come across as condescending, but the wealth of reading material available on the floor below might be a worthwhile incentive to put the digital world aside for a while. Pass the time instead by fulfilling one of your imagination’s wildest literary dreams: curling up in a window seat overlooking the city with a new book and a fresh, warm brew.
The Secret Book and Record Store
The Secret Book and Record Store is becoming less and less of a secret as its popularity among Dubliners grows. This bookstore offers both new and secondhand books alongside vinyls, CDs and more. Squeezed in between larger stores on Wicklow Street, this one is easy to miss – you’ll have to walk through a concrete corridor before emerging into the eclectic space. The narrow aisles and sense of disarray may not be to everyone’s liking, but it certainly offers a unique experience.
International Books
Language students are probably intimately familiar with this spot already, but it could easily go unnoticed by the average reader. Located on the corner of South Frederick Street across the road from the Arts Building, it’s a haven for anyone wishing to explore reading in languages other than English. Alongside language-learning guides, International Books offers translated editions of texts like James Joyce’s Ulysses and Dubliners. The store also stocks children’s books, CDs and learning materials ideal for language and literature lovers alike.
Connolly Books
As an English student, literature and theatre are two of my greatest loves, and both are here under one green roof on Essex Street. At the front of the building is Connolly Books which describes itself as “Ireland’s oldest radical bookshop” and tucked away at the back is The New Theatre, the home of many original Irish plays.
Connolly Books and The New Theatre are next door to the Project Arts Centre which recently gained notoriety for presenting a Repeal mural (twice) that it was forced to remove (twice). Connolly Books is equally progressive, often selling badges and stickers for various social movements. Its content ranges from Irish history and politics to Marxist classics and feminism. Located in Temple Bar, it’s slightly further from Trinity than other bookstores on this list, but well worth a visit.
The Gutter Bookshop
The open and airy atmosphere of The Gutter Bookshop makes it a pleasure to peruse. Despite its Temple Bar location, the store avoids being overly “touristy”; Insta-worthy fairy lights are draped from the ceiling and across shelves, giving it an ethereal ambiance perfect for finding your new favourite book.The Gutter Bookshop regularly hosts book clubs, readings, and book launches, and was shortlisted on the Irish Times’ “Best Shops in Ireland” list in 2014. Pop along and you’ll quickly see why.
