Kenneth here.
Part of my recent trip to Vitra in Basel included a few nights stay in Zürich where I got to catch up with my Swiss cousins, and of course visit a few bookshops!
My cousin recommended Pile of Books, which sells only English books. Located in a quiet street about 15 minutes walking from the hotel, this bookshop looks like a converted apartment with two front rooms and two back rooms.
I asked for recommendations of Swiss authors published in English, but they only had two titles in stock.
The Judge and His Hangman by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Amazon | Book Depository
A Jew Must Die by Jacques Chessex
Amazon | Book Depository
I was also delighted to find a mix of new and second-hand books.
Jeff In Venice, Death In Varanasi by Geoff Dyer
Amazon | Book Depository
From The Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple
Amazon | Book Depository
The Cello Suites: J. S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece by Eric Siblin
Amazon | Book Depository
Surrounded By Idiots by Thomas Erikson
Amazon | Book Depository
The Most Perfect Thing: Inside (and Outside) a Bird’s Egg by Tim Birkhead
Amazon | Book Depository
Another bookshop with an English section is the Orell Füssli central branch on Bahnhofstrasse. This bookshop is very much like a Barnes & Noble with different departments on different floors, and English books taking up the entire third floor.
There’s also a Swiss-interest section, where I picked up these two titles.
The Gilded Chalet: Travels Through Literary Switzerland by Padraig Rooney
Amazon | Book Depository
The Revenge Of The Black Cat: Swiss Myths edited and retold by Katja Alves
Amazon | Book Depository
And I found this stunner in the discount section for 50% off.
Living With The Gods: On Beliefs and Peoples by Neil MacGregor
Amazon | Book Depository
On our last day in Zurich, we spent a couple of hours walking in the Old Town and came across two more shops – The Travel Book Shop and Medieval Art & Vie – but as it was Sunday, they were closed. A reason to visit again, then.
Gathering Books 
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