I told my parents there is a second hand bookstore around the corner – and that I love Tolkien. This is what happened…

Going into 2025 I wanted to do a little post on how lucky I can count myself to have my parents just the way they are. And I will give you an example why: Some time ago I mentioned to them that there is a second-hand bookstore not too far away from their apartment. They live in Cologne, my hometown, with a lovely view of the river Rhine – essential to all true Colognians! – and are very attentive when it comes to me and books. So here we are…

Ooh, there is a second hand bookstore!

I do try to visit my parents as often as possible. Yes, we do talk on the phone, usually weekly, but there is no replacing the personal touch. So whenever I am visiting my girlfriend – which I am trying to manage once a month – I’m also travelling to Cologne to see them.

(c) BuchHeim logo

They only moved to their apartment a few years ago and when I first paid a visit to them I came past the bookstore Buchheim 25. It is one of those truly overflowing spaces you would wish them to be – it is almost impossible to open the door because the tiny space is so packed. During opening hours boxes are stacked outside on the pavement with items at incredibly low prices, both books and other media. See the photo from Google Maps below!

In addition to this the store has a great collection of board games and that’s where it gets interesting: According to my first impression – and all impressions afterwards – the bookstore is simply a front for the owners’ continuing attempt to turn it into a boardgaming saloon

So yes, there are regular get togethers to play recent board games even past opening hours. But anyway…

Every time I am off again, usually travelling back to my girl, I visit the shop to have a look around for some Tolkien or other fantasy titles. Or really any book that I might find interesting, any boardgame, ah… well. It is incredibly dangerous to go in there. Usually, I have to take off my backpack and carry it in front of me as I would not be able to squeeze past the shelves and the stacks. Love it!

I have bought a number of books there in recent years, most of them Tolkien-related, of course. Other fantasy books and even a boardgame also happened to change owners.

“What a coincidence! I do have a few Tolkien books, they just came in!”

When I mentioned this to my parents some time ago this apparently threw a lever in my parents’ minds that they should check continously for any books on Tolkien the store had on offer. Religiously. And as you may imagine any good bookseller would notice that an elderly gentleman and an elderly gentlewoman coming into his store asking about “books by Tolkien” would make for good customers. Regular costumers.

(c) BuchHeim 25, interior. Please note: dozens of stacks around the table were removed for the photo!

And so he started organising whole book collections in advance of their visits.

I have been very ineffectually trying to tell my mum and dad not to get me any more books – my Tolkien collection is far from exhaustive but the German editions I tend to have! However, parents tend not to listen to what their kids want when they simply know better.

And sometimes they strike gold.

Looking at the top and the featured image you can see one of the bookseller’s collections he came up with. The idea was to have a “list of books with which you could do reading sessions at a Tolkien Day or have as presentation copies so visitors could have a look at some of Tolkien’s stories at low cost.”

That’s what he told my parents. And it was a really decent one, to be honest. The Book of Lost Tales I+II, Hobbits, Children of Húrin, the appendices to the Lord of the Rings, the Silmarillion etc. The price was really good, even with these affordable editions.

Again – I had not asked my parents to get this. They simply assumed, asked, and bought them. And I love that!

“He said you might like these books!”

Their most recent purchase was one of the best they have ever done and they did not even know it.

Now, the German Tolkien publishers Hobbitpresse did a lot of weird and wonderful anthology editions of Tolkien’s works during the 80s, particularly in cooperation with dtv paperbacks. All of these books have been out of print for decades but are usually easily available via second-hand bookstores or online stores for only a few bucks.

The one every German-speaking Tolkien fan usually has when collecting the German editions is Aufbruch mit den Hobbits (1984). The link will show you dozens on offer with Germany’s best second-hand online bookstore.

What most people do not know is that the Hobbitpresse did THREE books, a series, so to speak. And at the time of writing a search made clear why the second and third part of this series are not that well-known: Aufbruch mit den Hobbits had 38 copies on offer, Zauberwald von Fangorn (1985) had 13 copies, and Zu Gast bei den Elben (1986) only 6 copies.

And yes, I did not have volumes 2 + 3 of this series. And my parents found them for me.

Sure, the bookseller also managed to sell them two copies of LILITH by George MacDonald, published by Hobbitpresse in 1979 – a “first edition” and a “later one”. I did not take the time to figure out whether that is actually true – the price was good again – but I have to congratulate him on the fact he knows that MacDonald was an influence on Tolkien and making this a selling point. Well done!

Do you have parents or friends who simply gift you books?

If you do please leave a comment or send me an email, if you like. I would love to share this as well.