Lasai, the bookstore of two ‘influencers’ that was born on TikTok: “We wanted to have something more real”

As soon as the store opens, they are presented with an impossible mission. “How old are you?” asks Beñat Azurmendi (26 years old, Sopelana) to a client who responds that she is looking for a book for a newborn. “But a baby doesn’t even know what shapes are,” Azurmendi jokes. Even so, after an intense debate, they end up choosing one with many colors. In the Lasai bookstore in Madrid, there are no impossible things, nor age limits. The proof is in the empty shelves waiting to be replenished. During our visit, a week has passed since they opened and they have already shown that young people read like the rest and that the gap between influencers and booksellers is smaller than it might seem. Azurmendi’s partner, content creator Ariane Hoyos (26 years old, Santurtzi) says that «everyone’s first reaction was to tell us that we were crazy.» They were somewhat right. Between 2022 and 2025, independent bookstores increased from 2,977 to 2,754, according to data from the Spanish Confederation of Booksellers’ Guilds and Associations. But the couple of friends were convinced that they could reverse the trend because they came from a different world: they are part of the BookTok phenomenon, the rise of influencers who promote literature on the networks. “People read more than ever and young people too,” defends Hoyos. More information From 11 Magdalena Street, in the heart of Madrid, Lasai builds a bridge between that virtual universe and classic bookstores, between the lifelong neighborhood customer and generation Z. In the morning, background music from the Animal Crossing video game plays; in the afternoon, Rosalía’s rumba of forgiveness. Many readers bring their wish list to Goodreads, a popular application for recording and reviewing books read. The bookstore is an Instagram feed made into a store. «Our goal was never to be the best influencers, nor to do all the campaigns. We lived in Madrid and we dedicated ourselves to networks, which is like the height of individualism. So we wanted to have something more real,» explains Hoyos. The germ of the bookstore comes, in fact, from before they had well-known profiles on networks (@arianehoyos, with 664,000 followers on TikTok and half a million on Instagram; @benat_azurmendi, with about 20,000 and 64,000). They met studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics in Bilbao. «At that time I realized that books were my life and I wanted to dedicate myself to it. In class we read a lot, but of course, we read Plato,» remembers Azurmendi. After classes, on the way home, they always stopped by the Boulandier bookstore, a small second-hand store. “I was always a big reader until we moved to Madrid, when I lost it a little,” adds Hoyos. «It was Beñat and I alone against the world. He started recommending female authors to me and I got back into the rhythm.» When they began to gain a considerable community of followers, they decided to share their love of literature with them and created Aqui no hay que lea, a reading club. The meetings were held in different bookstores in Madrid and little by little the joke arose of having their own bookstore to hold there. “They loved doing them and in the career of someone with those numbers in networks, the next step is usually to set up a business,” points out Carla Lurqui (30 years old, Blanes), head of the b3hind agency, which represents them as influencers. She is the economic head of Lasai, and did not hesitate to also become one of its founders. In the summer they found an idyllic location and set out to open before Christmas.It all started with the ‘No one reads here’ book club, in which they shared their love of literature with their community of followers. Pablo Monge Since then, the three of them, along with Paula, the bookseller they have hired, have spent hours and hours preparing the launch. Lasai is built on the tastes of three very different readers. “We have what we like, more independent publishers, different books and that is what makes a bookstore,” says Azurmendi. Lurqui brings business experience, confesses that he does not read more than six books a year and prefers science fiction; Hoyos is the one with the most people skills, she admits that she is content with reaching 14 and prefers young Spanish authors; and Azurmendi, who is the best at recommending books, has reached 100 this year and defends European novels whenever he can. But, unlike the competitions that are set up on networks with lists of books read, they defend the opposite. “Everyone has their own reading pace and that is fine,” says Azurmendi. «In the networks you have a limit of one minute to say something and you have to do it with a hook. Here you have all the time in the world to talk at length and be cut off as much as they want,» adds Hoyos. That’s precisely where the name of the bookstore comes from (lasai in Basque means calm) and the logo, a snail. They want it to be a refuge of calm and tranquility in the face of the fast-paced life imposed by networks or cities like Madrid. For the readers and for themselves, in their case, they are having a harder time finding that balance. Since they opened, they spend from ten in the morning to nine at night in the bookstore and they have not even had time to continue their activity on networks. «We get the best out of ourselves when we leave the comfort zone. Now we are super-resolute, animated,» says Hoyos. An important part of the clients are his followers, especially on weekends, but they are surprised by all the neighbors who come by. “It is a cure of humility, many people ask if it is ours when they enter. Then they follow the bookstore on Instagram and are amazed by the number of followers.” [casi 50.000]”, he adds between laughs.From 11 Magdalena Street, in the heart of Madrid, Lasai builds a bridge between that virtual universe and classic bookstores. In the photo, the facade of their store.Pablo MongeThey are going to host several reading clubs—the next one will be Rizoma and will be held on January 19 and 22—and until then they will continue to exercise their bookseller muscles to recommend the ideal title to each client. Azurmendi chooses Cosita (Blackie Books, 2025), by Alba G. Mora y Hoyos, and Metaphysics of the tubes (Anagrama, 2013), by Amélie Nothomb. “The two protagonists are girls, at this moment we are very connected to childhood,” adds Hoyos. «As a child I was a big reader, they gave me books for grades and we always went to the Begoña bookstore. My parents were even part of the Readers’ Circle…»—I think that that doesn’t even exist anymore, Azurmendi intervenes.—And that? We could make one, Lurqui proposes.— We should make one, Hoyos ditch. They say it jokingly, but with them you never know.