I have been going to Eslite at Taipei 101 every time I am in town and was so excited that Eslite…read moreopens up this first location outside Taiwan in 2012 at Hysan Place in CWB. I can spend hours checking out all the books they have here. The collection here is just impressive. If you like food and cooking, they have a lot of good colourful cookbooks that is perfect for gifts. Aside from books, there are also gadgets, stationary, aromatherapy products from Taiwan, cafe and even a bbt shop. Worth checking out. I would ask to meet up my friends here especially the ones that are always at least 30 minute late.

Bookstores... they practically don't exist in the US. So I was very happy to come and see this…read morelarge shop in Hong Kong. They have a selection of English and Chinese books; English-speakers, it's all good. It's easy to spend a whole day here. I love how it's lively in here and full of readers. Easily the best bookstore in HK.

I love Bookazine! I do. It has everything I love about a bookstore. Books, notebooks, great…read moregreeting card selection, magazines, postcards, kids section, board games, geeky knick knacks, pens, snacks, etc. This store is not large and just gets to the point. It is a professional set-up and easy to navigate for a small set-up. Their book selection is not vast, but they do have books. Lots of travel books too. As for greating cards, this place has the best selection I have personally found in Hong Kong in Central. I like that I can linger in here or quickly pop in and out with what I need.

Being the candy junkie that I am, let's start there. Yes, this is a book store, but they have an…read moreawesome stock of candy. I came in here one day to see if I could expand my knowledge. What a walked out with was an entertainment magazine and a packet of Gobstoppers. This was one of my favorite candies as a child, and an adult, I guess. There is a wealth of English magazines imported from the U.S, U.K., and Australia. They had pretty much everything you'd see while waiting in line at the grocery store. There is something for everyone including muscle magazines, wedding planning, health guidance, and junk magazines so you can keep up with the Kardashians. They also have a large selection of books in English. They have such a large selection that they are separated by type like best selling, children's books, and health instead of just one heading displaying "English books". I was very intrigued to see what the stars were up to, so I didn't really peruse the book selection. They is an extensive collection of English greeting cards. If you know someone getting married, having a baby, or birthday, this is the place for you. In addition to all the other great items, there are also children's toys, games and a small section of lunch boxes and containers to go inside. Bookazine is a great place to spend a good chunk of time and come out with spectacular random items, and books of course!

Do you like books? I like books! Do you like books in English? Yes! I love books I can actually…read moreread! Swindleton book store is almost an entire store filled with books all in English! I came here specifically for a HK hiking trail book. The store front is adorable, it looks like it belongs in Britian! I loved it from the first sight! Located a street right off of the iSquare building and Peking Road on a one way street. You cannot miss the store because you will see all the mopeds parked nearby and there's a ton of little stores down this street! Overall, the store is well organized and offers a lot of genres of books as well as magazines, greeting cards, and small gift ideas. There's also an upstairs with more books! The only think missing is comfy chairs and tables! But I guess that would only encourage shoppers like me to sit, read, hangout and probably not buy (books) but ask where my latte is?? Ohh right, I'm totally missing my Barnes & Nobles and their coffee shops right about now! While I don't think I would come here to buy magazines, I priced a "normal grocery store check-out stand magazine (Marie Claire)" out at $112 HKD/$15 USD!! Normal books varyng from travel books to cook books were around $115/$14 and up. It's safe to say that this will probably be my only soft cover book that I'll be buying because I don't want to ship more weight back later on! Unfortunately they didn't have my hiking book in stock but the guy at the checkout was kind enough to call another store and they had one left and held it for me. I'd definitely come back here just in case I do need something or even to buy a simple gift because they had a great selection and we're so helpful. Save the book...Stores! They're a dying species!

This on always our last stop in Hong Kong. I adore Swindons. It is jam packed with the most…read moreincredible reading materials in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. Unique items. Small hand-sized books, larger reading volumes and a nice array of stationary and cards. Due to luggage constraints, I could only buy 2 small books but they are keepers. A must go to if you enjoy reading unique books, and hard to find authors. My favorite bookstore on the planet.

When I am wondering around the city aimlessly, sometimes my favourite thing to do is to go to a…read morebookstore. I can spend hours on end at a bookstore. Ceaselessly filling my head with inspiration and new ideas. It's my best way of spending an afternoon. One of my favourite bookstores is Bookazine. The one in prince building is a little smaller than usual. Their selection is also more limited. I had a few books I had in mind to buy, but they were all sold out! I didn't let that ruin my afternoon of wandering from shelf to shelf in the store. Nicely cuddling up in the children's section, I can literally enjoy previewing lots of books in a genre that I am interested. It is in moments like these that I decide if I want to get the paperback version or the kindle version or not get it at all. Decisions, decisions! Not only does bookazine have books but they have cool gadgets and new toys for kids. It's a great store to pick something up for kids or even yourself! Now back to reading!

If you are looking for Manga in Japanese, this is an excellent store. I was shopping for my son, so…read morehad no idea where to find anything. Shop owner was super helpful, digging out a couple of additional items from inventory, in addition to what was on the shelf. A lot of the merchandise is gently used, so prices were great. It has a great vibe, buried in the basement of the building, spilling out into the lower concourse. Even if you don't buy anything, it is fun to visit.

A really good used Japanese bookstore located in the basement of a side street not far from Times…read moreSquare. Unlike some used bookstores where things were just piled around, this place is really organized. Their books cover a wide range of genre, not just the more popular topics about movies, anime, and beauty. If you are studying Japanese this is a treasure trove. They also buy back used Japanese books, though not very old ones. I took some old manga and fictions there and were told they don't worth anything. And I was treasuring them all these years. : P

First floor, all books are entirely in the Chinese language. (Don't judge a book by its cover and…read morebe discouraged if you only speak/read English like me...the upper floors are for you!). Second floor, all the knick knacks that bookstores sell...wrapping paper, notpads, markers, pens, cute novelty stuff, tote bags, etc. Third floor, all books are entirely in the English language. Floors 2 & 3 is where an English speaking girl from the USA finds herself more at home. A good selection of English written books, best sellers, classics, travel guides, etc. We went today seeking a wall map of China (the giant, rolled up kind), which we found, but had to ask a sales person about, for they were not on the sales floor and located in the back store room. We got a great map!

This is an absolutely amazing store. They have virtually everything... office supplies (they have…read moremore types of pens than I knew existed), greeting cards, ribbons, bows, gift bags, decorations, lights. You name it, they have it. Don't be put off by the relatively small space for so much merchandise. If you don't see what you want, just ask and one of the staff will find it for you. I've been going here for 25+ years and have never found a more service-oriented store in Hong Kong.

Sam and Company is a veritable treasure trove of stationary loveliness. Despite its excellent…read morelocation on Stanley Street, and the affect of this prime location on their rent demands, the store is not as jam-packed as many of its competitors in the area. They have struck a pleasant balance of a well stocked store, with plenty of products to browse, but enough space in the aisles to turn around without taking out half the shop. As is expected, Sam and Company sell pens, notebooks, printer paper, craft supplies, card board, red packets, greeting cards, as well as some rather random items like inflatable Hello Kittys, paper lanterns, plastic fruit and footballs. In fact, so good is the stock in there, that when I was recently looking for a non-self inking customisable 6 digit number stamp - yep, that specific, and had already flustered most as though I had asked for a left handed mug, the lovely owner/sales lady didn't bat an eyelid and just asked what size. I kid you not, she had an entire box of non-self inking customisable 6 digit number stamps. The point to the story is that Sam and Company have a lot of stuff. It's on shelves, piled on the floor, hanging off the ceilings, nine out of ten they will have what you are looking for (unless it is the aforementioned left handed mug). If you don't see what you want, ask the staff, there is so much more stuff secreted away behind the counter or out back. My only grumble is the staff can be a bit pushy. If the product you want isn't quite right, they get a bit shirty if you don't to buy. They also follow you around the store, but maybe that's just me and my dodgy looks? A definite must for anyone who needs anything craft or stationery.

So if large coffee table books about art, architecture, fashion and design or similar topics…read morewritten in English are your thing, you should stop by Kelly & Walsh. Not really a large, bookstore that features a large selection of the best sellers or popular magazines, but a darling bookstore none the less with an emphasis on quality special interest subjects from art & design to business & travel. Art is what I know and love. It was the best selection of art books I have seen yet while living in Hong Kong. Really a great, quality selection of some beautiful books. Everything is in English. It is tucked inside Pacific Place shopping mall and I almost missed it. It is up on the top floor and on the same side of the mall at Shanghai Tang and Kate Spade (just up on the top floor).

This Kelly & Walsh branch in Pacific Place is a great one - I first went there to check out an…read moreevent but then was caught by the bookstore itself. What I like the most about this place is the categories' arrangement; they have an amazing section on design and fashion books with some great big sized books for collection or gift. On top of that they have an extensive department for children, a little bit hidden on the left hand side on the shop. Then, the usual other sections: biographies, business, best-sellers, fiction, etc. Another 'plus' is the China and Hong Kong devoted corner. They have an information counter, but there was no one there today. The other great thing is that they hold events every so often, book sharing and signing up, which most other bookstores don't do. Right now there's an event scheduled for Iam Lambot's book signing, so I went up there today to check out his book. And this is where the dislike part begins: I wanted to have a look at the plot of the book and the details of the event but all they had was a poster with the title and date. No book. The staff seemed confused at my question about whether they had the book on store, strange! But to finish off on the good note it deserves: even though I'd have appreciated a bit more help from the staff, it's got a great collection of books, the perfect 'bookstory' atmosphere, quiet, clean, neat, tidy. And it's perfectly located in beloved Pacific Place.