How to find Books in English – Secret Bookshop (Updated)

Agenda is the big book chain around these parts, but is kind of expensive.  And of course you can quite easily download i-books but you don’t need me to tell me that.  You and your fancy i-pad.If you want the physical manifestation of a book without paying full-whack, a better bet is to go to somewhere like one of the touristy-shops down near Sliema ferries. You can pick up second hand books for about €2 there and you can usually find something decent in amongst the garbage.

Or there’s another option.
If you want a cheap book, if nowhere else can help, and if you can find it………… maybe you can try (what I have come to know as) The Secret Bookshop.

I swear there was a bookshop here a few days ago…

I have been inside this shop once, and picked up a copy of ‘The Gargoyle’ (not bad, since you’re asking) from it’s rather oddly arrayed shelves.  But the next day I walked down the same street and the shop had disappeared.  It’s kind of like one of those ghostly pirate ships that is only sighted during a full moon in winter, thence to disappear into the mists once again.  Fast forward a month or so from my previous purchase, and it was back again!  Today… nothing.  I will try to snatch a photo of the shop when it’s open next opportunity I get, but that may be some time so you’ll have to make do with this ‘closed’ photo above until then..

(If you want to try your luck, it’s on Manwel Dimech street, near the Balluta Bay end of the road just past a pedestrian bridge.  Or at least, it was.)

Update:
Another bookshop you might be interested in checking out is ‘Deja Vu Books’ on Swieqi Road.  It’s less than a 5 minute walk from the cinema in Paceville and has a good selection of second-hand books in English, priced on average around €5, open from 4-7pm during the week.

Best Option for Cheap Books:
The SPCA run a second hand bookshop in Floriana (just before Valletta by bus), which I visited recently, coming away with ‘A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian’ and an Agatha Christie for the princely sum of €2 total.  Decent selection of used books, you’re not going to find too many recent releases but perfect for picking up a couple of books to lounge on the beach with. It is next to the SPCA centre on St Francis Ravelin street, which you can find by going down Triq Santa Anna away from Valletta, and then taking the left turn after Triq Sarria.  It’s on the left hand side.

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 9.30am – 5.30pm and Saturday 9.30am – 1pm