A contour bookshop

Café Ordgeist is also a Kontur bookstore. This means that all new books purchased at Café Ordgeist can be exchanged in the Kontur chain's over 60 stores throughout Denmark. With us, you can shop locally and find book gifts for your sister, cousin, grandma or nephew in another city. You can find your nearest Kontur store here.
Bookshop and café ?

Yes, you read that right. At Café Ordgeist, we want to help you find your next favourite book and make sure you can read it with a good cup of coffee in our cosy café. You're also welcome to bring your favourite book from home or borrow one of our reading copies if you want to read a little before you decide.

OUR Committee

At Ordgeist we have created a bookstore experience based on our understanding of good, exciting and important literature. Fortunately it can be very diverse and we try to present both new and older literature across genres and publishers. We sell books in 8 categories, which you can read more about below.

Micro-publishing and self-publishing

We also believe that it is worth presenting new literature published by smaller publishers - or perhaps even by the author themselves. In this way, we also hope to give voice to some of the independent authors who are sprouting and bubbling with Ordgeist. Feel free to get in touch with Claus or Mia if you are interested in a spot as a self-publisher. We therefore many local writers and publishers from Northern Jutland represented.

Contemporary Danish fiction

In Denmark we have a large and exciting selection of new literature. We love to find and present new releases from our small but literary rich nation. In this category Danish retellings of Shakespeare stand side by side with satirical fiction, Danish future dystopias, and tales from everyday life. We want to present a selection with several different stories (and storytellers) represented. We also want to show that Danish fiction consist of many different things.

Crime fiction, biographies and political debate

This category is composed of diverse but very potent works that can make your heart beat a little faster and spark new thoughts. We love the gut-punch of the crime novel, the biography's invitation to immersion, and the ability of debate literature to scrutinise norms - and not least to challenge or even change them.


Translated contemporary fiction

Literature mirrors experience, and we believe that we are strengthened by meeting experiences from all over the world. That's why we sell an increasingly wide selection of translated contemporary fiction. The selection includes debut novels from emerging international authors such as the Japanese Emi Yagi's Diary from a Void and Nigerian-Tamil Akwaeke Emezi's Freshwater. International debut authors can be found in this category alongside distinguished Nobel Prize winners.

Classics and poems

In our classics and poetry category you will find both Danish and international works. We carry a wide selection of European classics, and our selection is also constantly growing with more works from around the world. In this category you can therefore find works such as Inger Christensen's Butterfly Valley or Sophus Claussen's The Devils alongside works such as Cervantes' Don Quixote and Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

new books in english

Café Ordgeist also has shelves for new international literature in English. Sometimes books just need to be read in their original language or by even more readers in English translation. Our books in English include contemporary fiction like Mariana Enriquez's Things We Lost in the Fire and Ayòbámi Adébáyò's Stay With Me alongside reflective essays like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Notes on Grief and Tsitsi Dangarembga's Black and Female.

Children's literature

Our selection of children's literature is built on a love of classics such as the books about Totte or The Mole Who Wanted to Know... At the same time we would like to present newer works about beloved characters such as Norwegian Fantus and our take on modern classics such as Little People, Big Dreams or Big Emotions for little ones.

Antiquarian books

Ordgeist's selection of antiquarian books is made up of classics, non-fiction and a wealth of different genres. Among our antiquarian books you will also find some beautiful first editions.
Ordgeist recommends: Your next reading experience

English recommendation:
The dark lady (2021)


In "The Dark Lady" by British rapper, political activist, and writer, Akala, we are transported to Elizabethan England through the eyes of Henry, a young black boy struggling to survive amidst poverty and prejudice, as he navigates the challenges of his time, including theft and societal constraints because of his skin color and poverty. As Henry's tale unfolds, the mystery surrounding Shakespeare's Dark Lady adds more excitement and meaning to the story, making it even richer in its complexity and more interesting. Akala's vivid storytelling and accurate historical representation completely immerses you in the difficulties of the era, exploring themes of race, identity, and love with both authenticity and a little bit of magic. The novel seamlessly blends history with imagination, leaving you captivated and questioning what is possible until the very end. “The play finished and a silence came over the audience. Maybe the groundlings did not get it. None of them can read. It probably went over their heads. But the looks on their face suggested something quite different…


Then, as if they had heard Henry’s thoughts, the applause began and the crowd cheered. It was clear that they too felt as if they had just witnessed something very special.” I absolutely loved every moment of this incredible book. It felt like I was not only learning about history and Elizabethan London but also experiencing the challenges alongside a remarkably strong main character. Despite facing countless obstacles, he finds a way to stay true to himself and forge his own path. (Maria Aichriedler // Intern from Salzburg, Austria)


Recommendation in Danish :
Satans mænd (2023)


The book took all the literary awards in Sweden in 2023, and after reading it, you realize why ! Rarely - if ever - have you read such an intense, tough, ironic, loving and poetic coming of age novel that autobiographically follows Andrev's upbringing in Lower Sweden in the early and mid-1980s. The satanic men of the title control the structure of the book, which is why each chapter is titled after Andrev's single mother's men, whom she has in turn in an uncontrollable serial monogamy. Andrev calls them ‘The Plant Wizard’, ‘The Artist’ and ‘The Indian’. 

The latter is actually Andrev's German-American-born biological father, whom he has never met and therefore longs for, as his mother's ‘choice’ of men repeatedly turns out to be demons and disasters for Andrev - and herself ! Rarely has there been a debut novelist who manages to depict the child's experience, understanding, sensations and interpretations so lyrically and empathetically and delivered in a beautiful language that constantly connects to a now retrospective Walden. This is how modern man experiences, senses and remembers - in crossings of time supported by photographs, objects and cultural products such as film. Rarely have you read such a clear MUST READ candidate ! (Claus Nivåå // Owner of Café Ordgeist)

Poetry recommendation :
The sun is a foot wide (2023)


With Silas Toft's debut ‘the sun is a foot wide’, there is no doubt that you will be served the finest poetry ! This incredibly well-written book is a marvelous example of what I associate with poetry. With its enormous sensory impact, the reader floats somewhere between big words, quirky descriptions and broken sentences. And although I have to admit that I don't always know exactly where I am among all the fragments, I can still feel it. You can feel the text in its contrasting universe - in darkness and light, nature and city, love and loneliness. These contrasts are strong and convincing, but in the most subtle and elegant way. Among the scenic descriptions, the changing seasons, the mark of the pandemic and the natural passage of time, there is also poetry. Yes, the poetry is simply in the poetry. 

 As a reader, you encounter a self that relates to literature, a self that loves the written word and cannot refrain from mentioning it. I was personally surprised at how well this element worked in the text, as ‘writing about writing’ can easily fail when writers become overambitious and too internal with the ‘worship of literature’, but in ‘the sun is a foot wide’ you can't help but love poetry, probably because you feel the narrator's love for it. The book contains the unique phrase : ‘a literature that dreams to exist’. And Silas Toft has made literature's dreams come true - because not only does this book now exist, it is also very good poetry - whatever that means ! (Caroline // intern at Café Ordgeist)

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