a long standing local landmark in the carioca world of books and music stores, the livraria saraiva has many locations across rio de janeiro - all equipped with comfy big chairs where to browse through the rich variety of books on sale, and just next to in-house cafes offering snacks and cappuccinos.  

one of the very best locations, perhaps also due to the proximity to a multiplex movie center, is the store located at avenida das américas 5000,  inside the new york center of barra da tijuca, reachable via phone at 21 2431.6432, or via the official webpage here.

for those inclined to find out a little more about rio, there is an excellent bookstore situated in laranjeiras, called the livraria do instituto pereira passos, which provides information on rio's history, urban planning, statistics and the environment with a wide selection from the instituto municipal de urbanismo pereira passos - ipp, the municipal entity responsible for much of rio de janeiro's maps and cartography.