1. Kinokuniya
With 3 branches and claims to stock around 500,000 books in store, Kinokuniya is a favorite destinations for book lovers in Singapore, as well as regional tourists. Many blogs I read described Malaysians and Indonesians traveling to Singapore in order to buy books from Kino! The price is quite reasonable and the staff are friendly. Location-wise, it can't be better at Singapore's top shopping mall: Ngee Ann City. Kinokuniya also stocks Japanese books and magazines, French and German books.
2. Borders
American-style Borders bookstore is also prominently located in Orchard area and highly-visible from street level. Located at Wheelock Place, the books are priced higher than Kino or other bookstores but have nice ambience and we love the fact that their magazines can be browsed. Most recently the bookstore was bought over by an Australian company and had also expanded to include a new outlet at Parkway Parade. It is noteworthy that their outlet at Wheelock Place is also Singapore's largest bookstore outlet.
3. Harris
This is Popular bookstore's effort in order to tap into more popular imported books segment. The old Popular are known for its wide selection of stationery, assessment books and little stock of imported titles. So they created Harris in order to expand their operation but so far it has not been successful as the outlet at Suntec is closing down and there are many clearance sale periodically. What I like about Harris is that the book titles are handpicked so that only those popular and relevant books are displayed in store.
4. OpenTrolley Bookstore
A full-time online bookstore, OpenTrolley Bookstore boasts more than 1.5 million English books delivered to any Singapore address within 4-7 days. Books are neatly packed and received in excellent condition and the website has since improved since it was launched. A great place to source hard-to-find books and to enjoy great book discounts. Most of their books are priced 15-30% off Kinokuniya and they allow self-collection at Toy Outpost, Plaza Singapura if customers want to save on delivery fee. Visit http://opentrolley.com.sg
5. SANS Bookshop
While the range of books is limited, SANS bookshop offers books at cheaper price and also enable customers to re-sell their books if they do not wish to keep the books. SANS Bookstore has many brances islandwide.
