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Mr. Mead
Joined: 21 Apr 2009
Posts: 29
Location: West Midlands, UK
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 Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 6:05 pm Post subject: Foreign (English) language bookshops in KSA |
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I hear the Kingdom is shopping paradise. Are there many English language bookshops, particularly in Jeddah? From what I've been reading here, Amazon is one's best bet.
How strongly censored are the bookshops? I'm guessing Rushdie and Dawkins aren't popular with the Mutaween.
Do most expats arrive with a stack of books and pass 'em around? |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 3657
Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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| Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
I hear the Kingdom is shopping paradise. |
You hear wrong.
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| From what I've been reading here, Amazon is one's best bet. |
You've been reading right. Unless your taste in books is confined to pulp fiction or inane 'self help' tomes, you will need to rely on online bookshops and/or bring books with you from home (a good way to exceed your baggage limit very quickly).
| Quote: |
How strongly censored are the bookshops? |
I'm not sure it's a question of strong (sic) censorship, but there is no doubt that the availability of English - and indeed Arabic - language reading material is fairly limited in KSA. It is still the case that reading for pleasure is regarded as somewhat eccentric by most Saudis, and expats are not known for their sophisticated taste in reading materials either. |
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Mr. Mead
Joined: 21 Apr 2009
Posts: 29
Location: West Midlands, UK
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| Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Haha, well put. Many thanks Cleopatra. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 6:07 am Post subject: |
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Out of the 100 or so teachers in the institution where I work, a minority are readers. TV is the thing. DVD's.
We are seeing the developmenet of a postliterate society. The locals are just non-literate. Saudi students for example, do not read.
Surrounded as I am by books I feel like a leftover from a previous age or universal literacy. |
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trapezius
Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: Land of Culture of Death & Destruction
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| Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 7:04 am Post subject: |
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| I hear the Kingdom is shopping paradise. |
For some items, yes. The list includes watches, gold jewellery, shoes, and clothes. |
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Sadebugo
Joined: 10 May 2003
Posts: 524
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| Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 11:07 am Post subject: |
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The previous posters were correct in their assessments. However, I was pleasantly surprised the first tme I saw Jahrir bookstore in Jeddah. They have a pretty good selection of non-offensive books.
Sadebugo
http://travldawrld.blogspot.com/ |
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007
Joined: 30 Oct 2006
Posts: 2684
Location: UK/Veteran of the Magic Kingdom
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| Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 11:16 am Post subject: |
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| scot47 wrote: |
Out of the 100 or so teachers in the institution where I work, a minority are readers. TV is the thing. DVD's.
We are seeing the developmenet of a postliterate society. The locals are just non-literate. Saudi students for example, do not read.
Surrounded as I am by books I feel like a leftover from a previous age or universal literacy. |
Uncle Scott, this is a sign of a retiring teacher!  |
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shfranke
Joined: 16 Apr 2003
Posts: 15
Location: San Pedro (Los Angeles Harbor Area), CA
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| Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 11:33 pm Post subject: Jarir & Obeikan Bookstore Chains - outlets throughout KS |
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Greetings.
Jarir & Obeikan are the major bookstore chains. (Saudi versions of B&N and Borders, kinda sorta).
They both have outlets throughout the kingdom, plus offer an online search & order service.
Both Jarir and Obeikan carry some English-language books, but their selections are limited and not up-to-date, unlike the offerings at bookstores in Kuwait or UAE (especially the stores which cater more strongly to expat readers in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and al-Ain, UAE). Don't know about bookstores and their stocks in Bahrain.
Hope this helps.
Stephen H. Franke
San Pedro, California |
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