I am a huge reader and my son is fast taking after me with his love of books. After eight years of living out of the UK I still really miss being about to pop into a bookshop of a good browse. The good news is that books shops offering a good selection of English language books are on the increase in Copenhagen. So here is a short guide of the places I know that sell English books but please do leave me a comment if you know of others and I will add them in.
New Books
Books and Company – Sofievej 1, 2900 Hellerup
I have written about this bookshop before here and I still maintain that the selection here is outstanding and the assistance they give is amazing. Well worth the trek to Hellerup from the city.
ARK books – Møllegade 10, 2200 København N
Again this is a place I have written about here and if you are looking for more usual books or to try something new this is the place. Their motto is “Home of the best stories you’ve never heard”. Run by passionate volunteers who love literature its a great place to visit. They also run a selection of courses and events in English. There are other bookshops in this street which are also worth a visit if you can read Danish.
Palermo Hollywood – Jægersborggade 31, 2200 Copenhagen N
This is a little quirky boutique on the trendy Jægersborggade that carries an interesting selection of books by female authors. I have made some great discoveries here.
Thiemers Magasin – Tullinsgade 24, 1618 Copenhagen V
This is another little independent bookshop with a small selection of English books, they also have book readings and events. Here is my post about this bookshop, located off Værnedamsvej.
Arnold Busck – Købmagergade 49, 1150 Copenhagen K
This Danish bookshop chain has a huge shop on Købmagergade and carries probably the largest selection of English books, fiction and non fiction, in the city.
Second-hand Bookshops
Rasmussen the book trader – Skindergade 23, 1159 Copenhagen K
This second-hand book shop has been around for years and if you have the patience to poke around its busy interior you may come out with a treasure.
Næste Runde at Riccos – Sluseholmen 28, 2450 Copenhagen
The Riccos coffee shop in Sluseholmen is home to a second-hand bookshop run by Næste Runde as well as selling great coffee. The books are sold by a separate business but you can pay for them at the counter. Again some interesting books here.
Public Libraries
The library system in Copenhagen has a central website where you can search for specific titles and either reserve them (if they are out on loan) or order them to be delivered to your closest library (if you have a CPR number). You can also return them there. The main library at Krystalgade 15 has a large English language section if you want to browse including a number of books for children and young adults.
Kindle books
If you are looking for Kindle books then you may not be able to buy them from the UK Amazon store but you can from the German one.
And thanks for my readers for the following suggestions:
Academic Books – online and at various University locations in the city.
Owl Books – this is a book rental scheme that you need to sign up to.
Book Swap in a Pub monthly meet up – details here.
Facebook group – Free your books
Cinnabar close to the round tower – The shop presents a handpicked selection of international, visually inspiring books on graphic design, illustration, architecture, street art, fashion and industrial design.
St Albans Church summer fete – check their website for details but it seems it takes place in June.
Dejlige Days 
I also miss browsing the big bookshops back home. We visited London last summer and I couldn’t resist bringing back a few titles.
When we first moved to DK in 2012 I continued to order books from Amazon.co.uk since it was so much cheaper. Then they dropped the special deal on the postage and the difference in price became less of an issue. I’m always on the lookout for good stores here, so this is very helpful.
The Politiken bookshop at Rådhuspladsen 37 has a pretty good selection of English titles and is generally well-stocked and worth a visit when it town.
Booktrader, in the basement of 23 Skindergade (access via a short staircase from the road) has a huge stock of second-hand english books. Not necessarily the latest editions and mostly fiction, but well worth a visit if you’re simply looking for something to read, the price marked on the flyleaf but if I remember correctly they’re usually 20-70 kroner. The owner is very friendly and speaks english.
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I would just like to point out that my own two novels about an imaginary Copenhagen, Kingdom of Clockwork and It’s Only A Clockwork Moon, are on sale in the gift shop of the Round Tower. 🙂
There is also Fantask in Sankt Peders Stræde 18, 1453 København K.
their selection is mostly of the fantasy and science fiction variety but its very good, i have bought a couple of hundred books from them trough the years
a relative newcomer is Klingbjerg at Sankt Peders Stræde 51, a couple of doors down from Troelstrup and opposite SP34. The shop is owned by two retired language teachers, who specialise in foreign languages – either foreigners learniincluded, and on their website are matching audio files, so that you can get the (oh so difficult) danish pronunciation correct. As well as lots and lots of books about learning danish, and they can help you work out what you need.