‘I want to be a writer or at least a sensation’ scream the enthusiastic faces of the international book browsing clientele at Books and Bagels at the heart of well-to-do east Berlin. The large cafe cum English language bookshop is devoted to ensuring that whatever sexy new book gets published, it appears on its shelves in a timely fashion.

Young servers with brilliant eyes who carry coffees with speed and devotion sell you overpriced bagels, but what they do not sell are their dreams of Berlin. Instead they carry them inside and afraid you might notice through the steely smile, they prefer to serve you quickly and move on to the next customer.

Located right on the vibrant Warschauer Straße in Friedrichshain, it is a place where Berlin’s book lovers can appreciate themselves for what a cosmopolitan and marvellous group of people they are. Among them the hermits in woolie jumpers who mingle with the old mavericks and bored young poets. Techies not allowed, but they sneak in anyway. Sweating out mathematical models on your Macbook to the murmur of bookish chatter is the thing apparently.

Once reading Marquez in a little-too-comfortable armchair I fell asleep and woke up three hours later, just to find out that the man who had been sitting next to me at the time of falling asleep was still there and snoozing away with Camus on his lap. That is the kind of place Books and Bagels is. If you are one of those rare people who still read and you haven’t been there yet I suggest you get up and go. And maybe pack yourself a lunchbox and gobble it in their bathroom or face spending eight Euros on a bagel. Open M-Sat: 8:00-20:00 ​Sundays 9:00-20:00.