What happens when an art historian-turned-curator opens a bookshop? That’s just what Gesine Tosin has done with About, a shop of curated books on Linienstraße. The concept of the store is unique: Tosin, who has worked for various art collections, picks books on a single, specific topic. The current selection includes novels, essays, art books and children’s books all dealing with the topic of laziness and idleness. Top picks include “How to Do Nothing” by Jenny Odell, “Waste Your Time” by Julian Pörksen and “Mr. Lazy” from the Mr Men series. “Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts” by Joseph von Eichendorff is not to be missed. It’s refreshing and surprising to see how the focus on a single subject can widen your view and let you (re)discover unexpected works like Mr. Lazy. The shop is also a place to linger: you can enjoy a coffee there or attend book presentations and talks on the topic of the moment. It’s worth coming regularly, since there’s a new theme every three months. Next up from mid-October: friendship
Text: Thomas Fischer / Photos: Torben Höke
Thomas Fischer is a Berlin gallery owner. Since 2011, he has been showing artists such as Irmel Kamp, Sebastian Stumpf and Noi Fuhrer. His gallery moved to Mulackstraße in Mitte a year ago.
About Bookshop, Linienstr.114, 10115 Berlin–Mitte; map
Mon–Sat 11–19h
@about_bookshop