Book Smarts: VNT's Guide to English-language Bookstores in Hanoi

The Bookworm Hanoi, second floor. (Photo: Valerie Mai/ VNT)

In Hanoi, the city of "thousands of years of civilizations," reading culture is celebrated by the young generation. Hundreds of bookshops and several book streets scatter around the city. However, it takes time and effort to find shops specializing in English publications whose staff can communicate with foreigners, understand the value of literature, and treasure their books.

Join VietnamTimes as we hunt down the best English bookstores in Hanoi!

The Bookworm Hanoi, first floor. (Photo: Valerie Mai/ VNT)

The Bookworm Hanoi

Location: 44 Pham Hong Thai, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi

When wandering along Pham Hong Thai street, one can easily identify The Bookworm Hanoi thanks to the store's eye-catching yellow and red paints. Arguably the most well-known foreign-language bookstore with foreign and local "bookaholics" in Hanoi, Bookworm offers diverse choices of new and secondhand English books at affordable prices.

Hoang Van Truong, a bookworm himself, started the business 11 years ago. Thanks to his decade-long dedications, Bookworm now owns one of the largest English book collections in Vietnam with more than 30,000 titles, including those about Vietnamese history, culture, and tourism.

The Bookworm Hanoi, first floor view from spiral stair. (Photo: Valerie Mai/ VNT)

Bookworm is a true nest for reading enthusiasts. Other than reading materials, people stopping by the shop are surrounded by tranquility while warmed by several cups of freshly-made coffee. The shop hosts occasional events with book discounts, free snack and drink offers, and performances of local artists.

A corner of Gac Xep Bookstore. (Photo: Valerie Mai/ VNT)

Gac Xep Bookstore

Location: Room 302, no. 23C, Tong Dan, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi

The "collective quarter" is a signature of Hanoian architecture. The cramped-yet-cozy space harkens back to Hanoi's urban spaces from the 1960s to the 80s. Once betokening a modern lifestyle, this type of house is now a great source of inspiration for dozens of vintage-styled coffee shops, teahouses, and clothing stores. Nestled on the third floor of a quiet and peaceful collective quarter in Tong Dan, Gac Xep is filled with used and new books and a snug atmosphere.

Gac Xep is the Vietnamese word for "attic". According to its owners, the name comes from a small attic in Lo Duc street, where they kept their first books.

A bamboo table full of books, Gac Xep Bookstore. (Photo: Valerie Mai/ VNT)

Though selling English publications, Gac Xep looks like a miniature exhibition room of Vietnamese traditional furniture: bamboo bench and table, cushions made with "chan con cong" fabric (fabric with flower and peacock prints), Dong Ho paintings, porcelain vases.

In Gac Xep, you can find any genre, from science, history, politics books to dictionaries. Besides, the shop sells CDs, art books and photobooks. If you are too busy to browse, send your request to the shop's Facebook and trust Gac Xep's team to do the rest.

The Bookshelf Hanoi shares a location with Riri Home. (Photo: Valerie Mai/ VNT)

The Bookshelf Hanoi

Location: 8 Nguyen Che Nghia, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi

Another lovely bookstore that Hoan Kiem district has to offer is Bookshelf. As its name implies, The Bookshelf Hanoi is literally shelves full of English books lying humbly inside Riri Home, a little home decor shop. You can find all kinds of pretty little things in a small place: books, accessories, clothes, macrame, teacups.

A corner of The Bookshelf Hanoi. (Photo: Valerie Mai/ VNT)

Launched in 2018, The Bookshelf Hanoi eyes "offering the most selective books at the most reasonable price," as its own website states. Their selection ranges from classic literature to self-help.

If you do not want to risk your spending on adventitious decisions, then Bookshelf provides sneak-peak to their books. The store's Facebook page is filled with short reviews and photos of random pages, which will walk you through every title until you find your perfect choice.

The Story Bookstore on Instagram. (Photo: The Story Bookstore)

The Story Bookstore

Online - Instagram/ Facebook

With the pandemic restricting traveling and in-person contact, everything tends to go online. Running since 2018, The Story is an online English bookshop based in Hanoi. The shop delivers books nationwide and accepts pre-orders.

Scrolling up and down The Story's Instagram, customers might be impressed with their simple designs, short but informative descriptions, and wide selection of books. In The Story, you can find comics, children's books, history, science, politics, education, even food and drinks titles.

If you are too busy to wander around big wooden shelves, searching tirelessly for your pick among thousands of names, then drop Story a DM and wait for the order to be delivered to your door.

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