To every book lover in search of an sea of books,
From us, with love.
Reading is a process. The digitalised world that we live in can only offer so much to compensate for the experience of picking up a good read. But the feeling a holding a book, ceremoniously smelling the aged pages and feeling the magnificent wave of reminiscence and curbing your temptations in reading the last sentence of the last page, is a process that can never be replaced.
And we at Homegrown have curated a list of bookstores in Bangalore that are keeping the essence alive one book at a time. This list consists of outlets that have existed for decades and have served a wide and diverse clientele across the city. You may even find some beloved and familiar names in there.
I. Blossoms Bookstore
Blending unobtrusively with the concrete jungles of Church Street, Blossoms Book House is a three floored haven of prose located in the centre of Bangalore’s business district. This second-hand bookstore is that is currently housing over 2-3 lakh titles, most of which were crowd-sourced from across the country. It’s founder, Mayi Gowda, is an engineer turned entrepreneur and follows a very simple yet effective business rule, “In any business, if you offer a good price and provide a good service, customers will keep coming back.”
These bibliophilic wonderland is open from 11AM - 9PM and is located on 2nd Cross, 4th Main Rd, Appaiah Garden, Jogupalya.
For more information you can contact them at 080 25320400 / 25559733, or visit their website or Facebook page.
II. Goobes Books Republic
Goobes Books Republic is one such independent bookstore that truly reflects its owner’s preferences and tastes in books. And Ravi Meneze is one such man who is the living epitome of a book lover. Even the bookstore’s Facebook page is nothing short of confession of their love for books, “We love books, especially non-fiction, weird literature and science fiction. We’ve been pimping, swapping and selling books since 2009.” They focus on providing books to customers which they might never find anywhere else and emphasise on promoting indigenous literature and writers.
But Goobe’s most standout quality would be store itself. The space and infrastructure is intimate in a way that interaction is a necessity; every visitor is encouraged to not only make book suggestions to employees but also exchange recommendations between each other.
With beyond affordable prices, the store is open from 9AM - 9:30PM and is located at No 11, Church Street, Near KC Das Sweet Shop.
For more information you can contact them at 080 4090 3806, or visit their Facebook page
III. Gangarams
A family owned business with a strong history of selling books in the metropolitan, Gangarams is not you regular chain of bookstores. What initially started out in 1977 with a part stationary shop and part bookstore, is now a full-fledged book seller and an iconic part of Bangalore’s history and culture. “Bookselling is a noble profession,” said Prakash Gangaram, in a report by Scroll.in.
Having recently shifted to Church Street, this book outlet boasts of a plethora of books on academic subjects, travelogues, non-fiction, fiction, children’s literature and even how-to-guides. Wanna learn how to knit? Find a book at Gangarams. Wanna revisit some classics like Treasure Island? You can find it a Gangarams. Need a quick brush up on your medical technicalities? You get the pattern.
With prices starting from Rs. 100, these famous book sellers are located at 3rd floor, No. 3, Church Street and are open from 10AM - 8PM
For more information you can contact them at 080 25127888, 080 25323289
IV. Bookworm
Bookworm is the standing epitome of dreams turning into reality. What began with a man selling a handful of books on the pavement, is now grown into a three-chained book store that is quite often named a Bangalore bookie’s favourite bookstore. The owner, Krishna, has implemented a unique credit system where the customer would have to just have to pay the book’s standard price as “reading fees” and can exchange it at their own convenience for another; essentially making the store the ultimate dream library.
Another highlight of this store is that the they stock rare and even out of print hard copies of books. All within a walking distance of each other, the Bookworm stores are open from everyday 10AM - 9PM and are located in:
For more information you can contact them at 098450 76757
V. Higginbothams
This is a familiar name to all bibliophiles and is the oldest established bookstore in the city. Started in 1905, Higginbothams now has a chain of outlets spread across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The Bangalore branch is now premiering their revamped look, while still maintaining its colonial-esque interiors. Having served an illustrious clientele since the early 20th century, this bookstore has everything from children’s literature to special sections of literature from Karnataka.
The store is located at No 74, MG Road, opposite the Metro Station and they soon plan on opening a coffee shop in their newly constructed court yard, where anyone can enjoy a satisfying cuppa to accompany their read for the day.
For more information you can contact them at 080 2558 6574
VI. Select Bookshop
Select is the quintessential treasure chest of books. One can spend an entire day sifting through the numerous messy stacks of books. Functioning since the 1970’s, the bookshop is a home for some of the rarest books in the country and has also been claimed as Bangalore’s finest antiquarian bookstore, by Scroll.in. All visitors are welcomed and treated with immense warmth and there is always help for any specific book requests and recommendations. Whether you’re in the mood to let yourself dive straight into a land of literary surprises or in search of a specific book, all you need to do is ask the owner, Mr. K.K.S. Murthy; he’ll take a note of it and hopefully after eons of searching through the ocean of books, he will call you back with good news.
The are open everyday from 10:30AM - 7PM and are located at No.71, Brigade Road Cross.
For more information you can contact them at 080 2558 0770