Although it is not as big as Eslite Xinyi, Page One Taipei 101 has these hideous spaces, because we will not really see them until we browse some books to the backside of the store. The front side, as usual, is a spot for new arrivals and bestsellers. Walking through the aisles, we can find many English books and some Chinese books. They are classified neatly in shelves, mostly based on authors, some based on topics. Go around the back, and there is a small way to enter the hideous corners, mainly children books and stationary.
Another thing I like from this bookstore is, Page One always offers discount. It varies from 10% to 40% off, though we must be careful, not every book will end up cheaper than other bookstore. But yes, some are definitely cheaper than others. Some popular English novels, though vary in prices, normally offered at NT$282 (around US$8.5) –I often buy English novels at that price– here in Page One, you will get 10% or 20% off. That’s much, just like when you buy books at TogaMas Bookstore in Indonesia (my favourite bookstore, you get discount, you get free plastic-covering service). Surely, no bookstores in Taipei offer such service (as far as I know).
Mollie Used Bookstore
Gongguan branch: Roosevelt Road Sec 4, No. 13, Lane 24, basement (B1) Opening hours: 10. 00 AM - 10.00 PM
Because I needed to have some textbooks for my study, I asked my labmates where I can find those books in a moderate price. Copying textbook is illegal in Taiwan, so we have to buy the original copy (in English), which costs about TWD 1,200 per book (IDR 340,000). He suggested me to look for second-hand books in this store: Mollie. There are two Mollies in Gongguan area; one is near a Vietnamese restaurant, the other hides in next section of the road; they both sell second hand books and music albums. The first one sells lecture books, some magazines, and CDs/VCDs/DVDs. The lecture books are in a very good condition and usually priced at 1/3-1/2 of new book price. There are a lot of lecture books collections in Mollie, from management to engineering. For purchase of more than NTD 500, buyer will be given a member card and 15% discount for every purchase after.
Another Mollie is a bit hard to find, it is near Discovery restaurant (take the aisle through Roosevelt Rd. Sec 4, and turn right after two other aisles). This bookstore mainly sells fiction books, like novels and comic books. The store has a lot of books in English, like some look-very-brand-new Harry Potter collection. The price is roughly the same, 50-90% cheaper than new books. Dan Brown’s novels, for example, are sold at only TWD 100-150 (IDR 27,000 - 43,500) each.
Let's go buy some books! -Citra