Carlijn Potma browses Berlin’s most comprehensive magazine store…
Auguststraße – East Berlin’s so called ‘art mile’ – doesn’t only host a wide range of art galleries.
It’s also a great place to hunt for rare books and magazines thanks to number twenty-eight, which houses Do You Read Me?!, a well-known store offering hundreds of interesting magazines and reading material.
Graphic designer Mark Kiessling and professional bookseller Jessica Reitz founded the store two and a half years ago due to a lack of shops selling the well-curated, international magazines they were interested in. The duo decided to take things into their own hands, and filled the gap by opening their own specialist shop.
The raw and trendy interior is a perfect backdrop for all the literature on display. The L-shaped space is fitted with black walls and a black tile floor, but doesn’t look shady or grim.
Magazines with stylish covers are tightly arranged on black aluminium bookshelves. Some are laid out on tables made of the same raw wood as the counter or placed in wooden boxes. Due to a lack of space, every corner – every inch of the walls and floor – is used to store a multifarious array of periodicals and books.
Large windows at the front and the back of the shop and rows of ceiling lamps turn it into a well-lit space. If you want to take a seat and glance through one of the journals in comfort you’re welcome to use one of the several white Eames chairs placed in the corners of the shop.
The range of subjects on offer is mind-boggling—art, culture, fashion, photography, design, architecture, literature, music, theater, society, politics and business are all represented, from a multitude of perspectives.
In all, the shop provides over seven hundred different titles from more than twenty countries, from well-known periodicals like Vogue, i-D or Wallpaper to local and more obscure ones like Sang Bleu, Candy and McSweeneys.
In the unlikely event that you can’t find what you’re looking for, the store provides advice and research to help you compile your own personal assortment pf publications—on a regular basis or as a one-off (back issues can also be ordered).
Next to magazines, the store stocks a broad range of arty books. The wooden bookshelves – which you can find on the left hand side at the back of the shop – are charmingly chaotic but contain well-curated publications focused on design, art, literature and much more.
And inevitably, Do You Read Me?! organises launch parties, readings and discussions as well. Check their website or sign up to their newsletter for regular updates.