There’s a nip in the air, the clouds are looming, and that can only mean one thing — monsoon is here . And that also means it is getting to the time when carrying your buddy, the book to a park or a cafe, and ordering a a big cup of tea or coffee is what you must be doing! So find your cosy nook, go scout for new, old, middle-aged book, and get reading! Let us help you along a bit, with bookstores across Bangalore. And if we’ve missed out any, let us know in the comments.
Of course, where would we be without Blossom? The old school book house will sort you out with everything from Enid Blyton and JK Rowling to the more obscure Christian Jacq, for history meets fiction and James Joyce’s Ulysses. Then there are dictionaries, travelogues, rare comic books, sheet music and a whole shelf of Mills & Boon. If that isn’t your jam, the store has close to 3,00,000 titles, sourced from across the globe, so really, there will be something for you. It’s easy to spend an entire afternoon looking for hidden gems here. Oh and did we tell you that they have two locations? The newer one is opposite Lacoste showroom, next to Matteo coffee.
The old Bookworm has moved away from its old location to a new huge store at Church Street itself, pick from classic works of literature, popular fiction and comics find a major place in their collection. Plus, books on spirituality, science and philosophy. We also love that they sell second-hand coffee table books, for a change.
Goobes has a chalkboard sign usually letting you know that you’d have a better day if you entered their lovely bookstore and boy are they right. A bookstore and library on Church Street, it’s an intimate space, not because of its size, but because of its prominence to interactions with its patrons. Cookbooks and Manga to graphic novels and science fiction, to a section dedicated to kids and travel, there’s much to get lost in here. Be sure to take a big bag so you can bring home plenty of reading material. If you happen to be stuck or baffled by the number of choices available around you, then just ask the ever-helpful owner Ravi for a recommendation.
A real hidden gem in the Kamanahalli and Kalyan Nagar area, Paperback Bookshop is the place to head to if you're craving cosy with a side of literature. This little bookshop features a collection of handpicked books, both new and second-hand. We've spotted Rumi, Tolkien, Ibsen and several new writers too. Fans of illustrations, you will appreciate the kid's section with storybooks and comics boasting cool vintage-style drawings. If you don't spot Paperback the first time of crowded CMR Road, just look for a white store with glass windows and doors.
The vintage Greek Palladium building of Higginbothams isn’t just for a great Instagram feed, #VintageBangalore. The oldest bookstore in Bangalore (though it was MIA for a while in the middle) has a children’s section, an exclusive stationery section (get your mood boards ready), a comics and graphic novels wing as well as sections for non-fiction and academic books. They even have a dedicated travel corner where you can pick up books, maps.
Founded in 1945 by the lawyer and bibliophile KBK Rao, and frequented by the likes of Ruskin Bond and Ramachandra Guha! Now that’s elite. Select Bookshop has been hailed as Bangalore’s finest antiquarian bookshop and has been managed since the 1970s. Housing rare books, they are usually kept under lock and key. Help is on hand for specific requests, but the place is a haven for browsers who’d just like to be able to find something fresh and unexpected.
Yes, Gangarams has an entire section for “Academic Books” but no that’s not all you can find there. One will find the classics from all over the world, but also a treasure trove of books on the various facets of India and travel guides. There are sections dedicated to lifestyle, gardening, and pet care as well. What has always been a winner for Gangarams, despite it moving from one location to another quite a few times, they are willing to source the same for you, thanks to their special order service with publishers abroad.
The Lightroom Bookstore is an uncluttered and elegant bookstore for children and young adults. They have clearly put in tremendous effort into handpicking the books for the store by Aashti Mudnani, who started Lightroom in 2013. Growing from just 800 books to over 2000 today, usual suspects include Harry Potter, Julia Donaldson, and Percy Jackson. But interesting titles such as Animalium: Welcome to the Museum by Katie Scott and Jenny Broom and Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell’s The Sleeper and the Spindle, are also on offer.
Bookstores that double with a gorgeous supply of stationery? Sign us up. Apart from the basic supplies, Sapna Book House has a selection of quirky notebooks, to make a record of your books. They have a wide range of art supplies as well, including painting materials, sketch pens, color pencils, canvas boards and much more. Oh, and adult coloring books. And, of course, a plethora of textbooks, digests in regional languages like Kannada and Tamil, that are hard to come by elsewhere. Also a great place to source for your study materials and textbooks. Non-academic books are also aplenty. Geronimo Stilton, Danielle Steele, Sidney Sheldon, and kids’ collections by Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton and JK Rowling, plus a few flash-in-the-pan writers too.
Hidden away in the quiet lanes of Edwards Road, Champaca is a gorgeous independently owned, women-run space that's a bookstore, a library, and a cafe. The collection is curated and you can buy books as diverse as philosophy and poetry. There's also a small section for kids. You can bring the little ones and sit around and have a jolly good time.
As if there wasn't enough on Church Street for bibliophiles to call it their favourite street in the city! But there's always want for more, and The Book Hive fuels that desire! A second-hand bookstore a few doors before Third Wave Coffee, . Load up on rare copies of books, get classics by everyone from Tolstoy to Dickens. We love that they have first editions and don't really scream it out. They're just there with the rest of the books. Just keep your eyes peeled for them, and then grab them if you do chance upon one! If we're around, we WILL fight you for it!
If new is what you want, they have that too but not really at a cheaper rate. Just the MRP with a hint of discount.
Read more here.
Since you are here and it's evident you love books, we've also found the perfect Gifts For A You That Aren't Books! If you have a bibliophile buddy, this list of the Ultimate Book Lover Gifts may come handy. Just like our Gift Shop that has presents for any one, any occasion and on any budget, including quirky bookmarks. Check it out!
