House Voices: Filipe Costa

At Livraria Lello, few can boast 25 years of history and dedication. Filipe Costa is the only one who can claim this milestone, which is why we couldn't start this space for sharing voices any other way.
 

LL: Do you have any childhood memories that you think brought you here?

FC: Yes. As a child and teenager, I always enjoyed reading. When I joined Livraria Lello and rediscovered some of the books that marked that phase — such as Os Maias, Amor de Perdição and Tom Sawyer — I felt an immediate connection. It was even more special when we started publishing these works, because it was a way of reliving the stories that had accompanied me in the past.
 

LL: How did you end up at Livraria Lello?

FC: At the time, there were no advertisements on the internet, so I saw the advertisement in a newspaper. I didn't know Livraria Lello, but I sent a letter applying for the job and they called me for an interview. When I entered the bookshop for the first time, I was fascinated... it was like entering another world, as happens to anyone who enters for the first time. The interviews went well and I started work on 5 April 1999.
 

LL: What was the best moment for you at LL?

FC: As you can imagine, there were several, especially since I've spent half my life here. The bookshop is my second home, and I've experienced many funny situations here that I never thought I would. One of them was when a group of Chinese visitors, accompanied by a guide, knelt down and kissed the first step of the staircase before climbing it. They did it as a gesture of respect, as if the bookshop were a temple of culture – and in a way, it is. I was stunned when I saw this. It was like seeing someone enter a church and cross themselves.
 

LL: What would you say is the most important characteristic for a supervisor and cashier?

FC: I would say that the most important characteristic is responsibility, especially when dealing with money and the intense pace of work at the cash desk. But this pace has its rewarding side: between each customer, there is always time for a chat with visitors, to find out where they come from or what they think of the city. It is this human contact that makes this job so rewarding for me.

 

LL: What do you think is the biggest difference between LL now and 25 years ago?

FC: There's no comparison. Over the last 25 years, the bookshop has undergone several phases of change, especially after the city's tourism boom. In the past, there were days when we only had 20 or 30 customers, who were mostly from the local area and chose to come to Livraria Lello to buy a gift or to enrich their library. From 2015 onwards, with the arrival of the Pedro Pinto family and all the changes they implemented, the bookshop ceased to be just an icon of the city of Porto and became a global reference. We now welcome thousands of visitors of dozens of nationalities and our mission is clear: to turn every visitor into a reader.
 

LL: What is the secret to maintaining its charm for so many years?

FC: The secret is to do what you love, in a place you love. As I mentioned earlier, Livraria Lello is like a second home to me and, after so many years, I can no longer disconnect from this space. Even on days when I don't come in, I think about the bookshop. And everyday life here is unique: different cultures, people from all over the world, stories that intersect at every moment. And I like that. I like socialising, chatting, being surrounded by people.
 

LL: If you could have dinner with anyone (living or dead), who would it be?

FC: That's not an easy question. But I'll relate the question to the bookshop, books and authors. I would love to meet Fernando Pessoa and sit down with him to understand his ideals.

 

LL: Which book has had the greatest impact on you?

FC: There are several, but the books I read as a child and the works we studied at school had the greatest impact on me.

 

LL: If your life were a book, what would the title be?

FC: Here at the bookshop, because I am the longest-serving employee – I want to believe it's not because I'm the oldest – my colleagues have a habit of calling me ‘Chardron’. So perhaps the title would be Filipe Chardron in the Most Beautiful Bookshop in the World or An Adventure of Filipe Chardron at Livraria Lello.