Bookstores in Bangkok
For bookworms, moving to a foreign country can often be hard as many cities do not have bookstores that stock a good selection of English language books. You will not have this problem in Bangkok as there are new and used bookshops throughout the city. Used bookstores can largely be found around Khao San Road and also at Chatuchak Market. New bookstores are opening all the time, with one of the biggest and best being Kinokuniya. English language libraries don’t exist in Bangkok, so the bookstores are your best choice. The following bookstores sell international bestsellers as well as a wide range of specialist books and fiction and non-fiction:
- Kinokuniya, at Siam Paragon Mall and Emporium. This is a Japanese bookstore that specialies in English books and magazines as well as newspapers. It’s a huge bookstore with an impressive collection of books on all topics and genres, non-fiction and fiction. It really covers everything very well from psychology to business to children’s books. It also has smaller subsections with Japanese, Chinese, German and French books and magazines. The only negative is that all books are sealed in plastic which means you cannot read through them before buying. Still, it’s a minor annoyance and this place truly is the place to be for bookworms. No website.
- Dasa Book Cafe is another popular bookstore in Bangkok. They have more than 12,000 titles and play nice relaxing music. Their website is: http://www.dasabookcafe.com Their staff is very helpful and friendly, as well, and they have a nice cafe.
- Asia Books: They have 14 stores located (among other places) in Sukhumvit Road; Siam Paragon; Central World and Thaniya Plaza. (http://www.asiabooks.co.th). Selling mostly popular books and magazines, Asia Books was the number one bookstore until Kinokuniya. The number of branches they have around Bangkok makes them convenient, but their selection just isn’t as good as Kinokuniya. They are known to have a good business section.
- Bangkok Rare Books: 2nd Floor Amarin Plaza, Ploenchit Road. This is small bookstore that has a selection of books not available elsewhere. They specialise in travel books and books on South East Asia. You can also buy books from their website: http://www.bkkbooks.com
- Kao Sarn Road used bookstores. There is a number of used book stores in and around Kao Sarn road. It’s a great place to pick up travel guides.
