Astuti Aswadi takes a break from bitchy reviews to browse the best of Bali’s bookshops

Even if you are not an avid reader, chances are you will want to buy one or two books for the beach, a boring bus journey or to fill empty hours on rainy days. You might want to read more about Indonesia yourself, or take a book home as a memento or gift. Almost all of the bookshops visited offer the same range of tourist orientated titles; the glossy, beautifully-illustrated coffee table volumes that make ideal souvenirs; cultural and travel books (the excellent Periplus and Oxford in Asia series): dictionaries, phrase books, maps and the occasional novel or biography with an Indonesian theme or setting. Those of you looking for brand new fiction will find a more limited choice. Penguin Classics and Penguin 60’s (mini-books to give you a nibble at literature) are generally easily available but the fiction sections are dominated by those books with shiny embossed covers usually referred to as ‘bestsellers’ or ‘airport novels’. Tom Clancy, Danielle Steel, John Grisham et al are all well represented.

Happily there are always hidden jewels if you have the time and inclination to seriously browse. Don’t overlook the secondhand bookstores which can be treasure troves, especially for those on a budget, with the added advantage that you can leaf through before buying rather than relying on the publisher’s back cover blurb covered in cellophane.

DENPASAR

In Denpasar itself, Gramedia and Gunung Agung are similar – spacious, cool and fairly well-organised. Unwrapped ‘browser copies’ of the coffee table books are supplied so you can sample the likes of ‘Indonesia : Paradise on the Equator’ or ‘Bali : The Morning of the World’ at leisure before parting with around Rp 500,000. Gramedia, however, warns you that should you dare to unwrap a book, you’re obliged to buy. The Jackie Collins/Stephen King type novels retail at about Rp100,000 but there are some special price paperbacks at Rp25,000 by lesser-known authors of the thriller genre. Both shops have an eclectic mix of lifestyle, design and hobby books ranging from golfing tips to bonzai cultivation. Very young children are catered for with counting, colouring and alphabet books in English, and there is some reasonably priced teenage reading such as the ‘ Indiana Jones’ adventures and the ‘Goosebumps’ horror series.

LEGIAN

Over in Legian/Seminyak, Bintang supermarket has recently added a large book section with a surprisingly vast selection of cookery books. I find this a little mysterious – are tourists likely to snatch up ‘The Little Aussie Cookbook’ for a beach read? Opposite Goa, the Central Photo shop has most of the cultural/Asia focused books and stocks new magazines but these seem rather pricey.

SANUR

In Sanur, Café Batu Jimbar has glossy hardbacks and a small fiction section. Their prices seem to be slightly higher than average. It was rather disturbing to find aspiring serial killers catered for with the true story of Fred and Rosemary West (Britain’s notorious mutilation and murder team) which wins my overall prize for The Most Bizarre Book in Bali. A few doors down, the Hotel Santai sells mostly non-fiction related to ecological issues. They also have a large lending library of educational environmental books, newsletters and magazines and a smaller corner of fiction.

UBUD

For its size, Ubud is surprisingly well provided with bookshops. Mutiara and the Ubud Music store offer a mainstream collection but not so many unsealed copies for browsers. Ary’s is bright, comfortable and has probably the most comprehensive selection of cultural, art and style hardbacks, which are attractively and clearly displayed. Its travel section includes guidebooks on other Asian destinations for those of you who are travelling on. Ary’s and Ganesha seem to be the only places stocking English translations of Indonesian fiction and non-fiction writers including Iwan Simatupang and Gunawan Mohamed as well as the Menagerie series of anthologies of translations of Indonesian short stories and essays. Small children will appreciate The Balinese Colouring Book from the Seniwati Gallery, which comes complete with crayons. Ganesha is rather cramped but don’t be put off as it’s well worth a visit. Alongside the usual fare they have an extensive selection of second hand books which are alphabetically arranged and include plenty of good reads as well as blockbusters. Prices are around Rp 40,000 but you can return the book once read and get back 50% of the original purchase price. There’s also a bargain box of fairly tatty volumes at Rp10,000 or less. Non-fiction sections include humour, health, women’s issues and mysticism. In addition, they have a collection of old and rare books, an Indonesian Studies section and a number of foreign language novels. Ganesha also hosts music workshops and sells Indonesian classical music and instruments. They offer a 10% discount on purchases of Rp 500,000 and above.

Happy browsing bookworms!

“Some say Life’s the thing, but I prefer reading.” (Logan Pearshall Smith)

Gramedia, Matahari Denpasar. Tel. 221 026
Bintang Supermarket, Seminyak. Tel. 730 612
Cafe Batu Jimbar Bookstore, Sanur. Tel. 287 374
Hotel Santai, Sanur. Tel. 281 684
Ary’s Bookshop, Ubud. Tel. 974 635
Ganesha Bookshop, Ubud. Tel. 976 339