Tbilisi bookstore review

U.S. television actor and comedian Jerry Seinfeld once said, “A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.” It is hard not to agree. Georgia Today headed downtown Tbilisi to see what the city’s bookstores have to offer.

Prospero’s Books Named after the well-known film, “Prospero’s Books,” the shop at 34 Rustaveli Ave. offers books exclusively in English. For more comfortable browsing, the bookstore is divided into sections, such as travel, regional interest and non-fiction. The shop is small and reminiscent of an old-fashioned corner store with about a dozen shelves and a small cafe where visitors can chat or have a snack. Book prices vary from 25 to 70 lari.

Parnassus Located on 22 Chavchavadze Ave., Parnassus is the centerpiece of the capital’s bookstore scene, with three shops in Tbilisi. The first store opened in 2002 and offers 25,000 books mainly in Georgian, Russian and English, but also German and Italian. Prices vary, although customers have been known to find books at prices relatively cheaper here than at other local shops.

Tsignis Saxli (House of Books) is a large store housing a cafe full of coffee-drinking customers. Besides the shop, a library complete with full-time staff is located on the second floor where visitors can read on the spot. The books at the shop are mostly Georgian and Russian titles. Tsignis Saxli is located on 31 Pekini St. and sometimes called “Literaturuli.”

Georgia Today, 18.09.09