Reykjavik antique book shop where the printed word reigns surpreme

I usually do not use terms like ‘hidden gems’ for shops in a city. After all, they are open to the public and typically accessible from the streets. People are trying to make money from shops, and they advertise to attract customers. But there is one antique book shop in Reykjavik that deserves the title ‘hidden gem.’ I am talking about the shop ‘Bókin Antikvariat’ on the corner of Hverfisgata and Klapparstígur. It was founded in 1964 and is a fixture of Reykjavik city life. Just so you know, ‘Bókin’ simply means ‘book’.

I love this jumble of books

Most shops in Reykjavik and in other western cities look more or less the same. Shops are, of course, designed and built to maximize sales. This is definitely not true for Bókin. It is a cluttered jumble of books and I love it.

Bringing back lovely memories from my childhood

I am not sure how to best describe this antique book shop. When I come there, I always turn six again and feel like I am venturing down to my grandfather’s basement where he had his man cave. It was full of old furniture, and the walls were covered with old books. In a back room, he had a workbench and another cluttered storage room. He used to be a librarian for the local municipality back in the day, and he just loved books. My favourite thing to do when I was a kid was to go over to my grandparents on a Sunday, eat sweet pancakes lovingly made by my grandmother and then nerd out with my grandfather’s books. My favourites were his World War 2 books which had a lot of pictures and maps.

Consider the wonder of books

When you come in Bókin,  you notice the smell of old books, and then you will be overwhelmed by the sheer multitude of books all over the place. It gives you a nostalgic feeling. Antique book shops always feel like a museum of an earlier time when the printed word was the primary medium of drama, adventure, science, philosophy or political propaganda. We forget how revolutionary the introduction of the printing press and how much it changed the world. I also feel a little sad in there, I just wished I had the time to read more. Perhaps I should dedicate my life to reading old books!

Look for the gems in the jumble

Anyway, the proprietor does try to organize the books by subject matter, or at least it looks like he once tried to. But you will find an old feminist magazine next to decades-old paperbacks of the Icelandic sagas, lying next to bombastic autobiographies by Icelandic men. There are books in many languages, although most books are in Icelandic. I saw a lot of business books, history books and art books in English during a recent visit.

Accolades for dubious banks

I love the humourous and historical tidbits which are distributed over the shop. My absolute favourite is framed awards from the Icelandic Stock Exchange on the best annual reports issued in 2007. These were given to the Icelandic banks Landsbankinn and Kaupthing. These seemingly perfect examples of Icelandic business acumen collapsed in 2008 and were exposed as dubious operations to put it politely. These awards are a great example of the glossy exterior which was shown to customers, regulators and general employees.

I worked at Kaupthing in online marketing and servicing companies using online banking services. The insider trading and fraud committed by the bank’s owners and top management deeply angered me. It is just despicable.

The Communist Manifesto and prison menu

You can also see a notice from the British Labour Party from 1948 announcing a new edition of the Communist manifesto. And there is a menu for the Reykjavik prison from the nineteen-thirties.

Bókin is one of the sanctuaries I have from the stresses of daily life. I love to step into the past where the printed word reigns supreme.

How to find this wonderful Reykjavik antique book shop