Gay Book Stores in Barcelona : Two Great Choices !

There aren't many gay book stores in Barcelona but the few - two to be exact - are great locales where book lovers can immerse themselves in their glory. You may have probably come to Barcelona for the nightlife, for the food or culture, for the sun and the beaches but if you're anything like me, then you won't - for the life of you - spend a thirty days holiday without some reading material. When I moved to Barcelona in mid-February, my search for the best English book stores - especially Gay book Stores in Barcelona - began but the available information on and offline was very little to none, so I set out to find one. So here are my findings for those of you who are visiting Barcelona and enjoy reading between outings.

Libreria Complice

The first of the two Gay Book Stores in Barcelona is a spacious library specializing in fiction and non-fiction literature for English, Spanish and Catalan speaking customers. Their services ranges from assisting gay and lesbian travelers to find their way around the city and by providing guides and maps to helping writers publish their work that are ignored by mainstream publishing houses. So, this makes Complice both a book store and a publishing company. As varied as their services are, their catalogue offering is even more so with a great selection of material in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender genre for every age: books about general diversity and themes, comics, movies, magazines, and a lot more. If you want to see everything that they got to offer in their catalogues you can visit their websites...most of the information found there is in Spanish and Catalan. CÓMPLICE is the Historical LGBT book store of Barcelona, this doesn't mean that they specialize in historical literature, it just means that they are the oldest operating gay book store found in the city, going strong with 17 years diffusing the homosexual culture while intergrating the rights of gays and lesbians around the world. When you subscribe to their blog and newsletter, you can be kept informed about their catalogue udates and the latest information about what goes on in the Barcelona gay scene such as parties, clubs, presentations, meet-ups and other news of interest. Recently, Tevevision de Catalunya filmed a short segment on Complices. It's in Catalan but even if you can't follow the dialogue, the visual gives you a good sense of the store.

Antinous Library in Barcelona (Librería - café gay- lésbica)

If the bars and clubs scene gets old and a little exhausting, then a fantastic place to hang out, meet people and immerse yourself in the gay scene, is Antinous. Both a bookshop and a coffee shop for gay men and women, it is a perfect spot for browsing the latest in gay literature, enjoying a great cup of coffee and learning more about community events and organized gatherings. New clubs, shows and meeting groups are advertised, so if you’re fresh to the area and want to meet new people, this is definitely one to remember. This is our second of the two Gay Book Stores in Barcelona but don't think this is a ranking competition. This shop has its own charms and it's a very popular meeting point for gay and lesbians just off the southern end of La Rambla and very much like Complice, their catalogue varies tremendously from books to videos that caters to the GLTB community. They also provide a copy of "Nois Magazine," a publication with all the information about the gay events taking place in Barcelona, hold book presentations and exhibitions. Both stores are wonderful when looking to purchase a gay book, it all depends on how you want to invest your holiday time shopping for a book. Do you know of any other Gay book stores in Barcelona that are great and that we haven't mentioned? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments! ~ Argenis