Reading Matters
Need a book? Where to go.
Puerto Escondido has an English language library located on the Rinconada (Av. Benito Juárez), between Nene's and Cafecito. The International Friends of Puerto Escondido (AIPE) has sponsored the library since the year 2000. Run by volunteers, the collection reflects the range of Puerto's English speaking residents who donate the books. There are a lot of spy novels and mysteries, but there is also an abundance of hardcore serious literature, as well as DVD's.
The library functions as a social center too, and it’s a good place for new residents to get oriented. Volunteers are always welcome.
The hours are 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Membership is 300 pesos a year, 450 for couples, and 100 a month for short-term visitors. Or you can buy a book from the duplicate racks for 10 pesos.
Cinemar on Zicatela, near the Arco Iris, features a second hand bookstore, mainly in English, but with some titles in Spanish, French, Hebrew and other languages. It’s a place to linger over a cappuccino or a concoction from the juice bar, or a beer or mescal. It also buys and sells surf boards. And you can watch a movie in English in the air-conditioned screening room. Hours are 9 a.m. to midnight.
For books in Spanish, nothing beats the Librería Universitaría of UMAR. Located in the kiosk in the plaza behind the Agencia Municipal, this bookstore has everything from children’s books, to cookbooks, to erotic fiction imported from Spain. (Hint: the last are found on the second floor.) There are novels by Agatha Christie and Gabriel García Márquez, plus a healthy (or unhealthy) selection of self-help books. History, philosophy, business, whatever the topic it's here, along with works on the indigenous cultures of the Oaxaca coast.
Open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday hours are 9 to 2 and 4 to 8. Telephone 954 582-3550.
