PageOne, WoWasis' choice as the best English bookstore in Taipei

Even though Taiwanese are voracious readers, most Taiwanese bookshops have little for westerners wanting to read in English. We’ve visited four bookstores in Taipei that offer — in varying degrees, books for western readers. Here at WoWasis, our focus is on bookstores that offer books in English on Taiwanese culture and history. Navigating these stores can be a challenge. Books on Chiang Kai-shek will not be found in the Taiwanese history section, because he’s considered politically to be from the mainland, a Taiwanese form of political correctness that ends up being transferred to the shelves.  The number one English bookstore in Taipei is Page One, on the 4^th floor of the Taipei 101 building. We recommend you stop there prior to visiting the others.

Bookstores featuring books in English on Taiwanese themes:

Page One
Taipei 101 Center, 4^th Floor
Tel: 02-8101-8282
Open Sun-Thur 11 am – 21:30, Fri-Sat 11 am – 22:00
www.pageonegroup.com
MRT stop Taipei City Hall (a free shuttle bus runs every half hour to Taipei 101, or you can walk 10 minutes).
The best English bookstore in Taipei, without a doubt 

Eslite Books
Dunnan Main Store
2F, 245, Sec. 1, Dunhua South Road
Tel: (02) 2775-5977 x250
www.eslite.com
MRT stop Zhongxiao Dunhua
This is Eslite’s “open 24 hours” location, and there’s an all-night café open right next door, too. Eslite’s always got a promotion going on, namely buy NT$ 1000 worth of books and get a 5% discount, or NT$ 3000 and get a 10% discount.

Eslite Books
Xinyi Store
No. 11 Songgao Road, Xinyi District
Exit #2, Taipei City Hall MRT stop
www.eslite.com
MRT stop Zhongxiao
This iEslite shop opens at 10 am, closes at 12 midnight. The selection of English books is poorer at this particular Eslite store, so we ‘d recommend sticking to their main Dunnan store (above).

Cave Books
54-3 Zhongshan Road
Tel: (02) 2599-1169
www.cavesbook.com.tw
MRT stop Yuanshan
This is a new location and telephone number for this well-regarded store. Clerks all speak English, and are quite helpful. It’s just one block away from the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, near the Yuanshan MRT station.