Despite the rise of Amazon Kindles and e-books, bookstores in South Africa are still flourishing. These days, South African bookstores are not just places for exploring the world of books, but also include coffee shops, making them ideal meeting places with their combination of both literature and entertainment. Here are the top bookstores around South Africa.

Dustcovers, Nieu Bethesda

Set in the famous town of Nieu Bethesda, this quaint bookstore is a wonderful place to find second-hand books in an immaculate condition. Spend a few hours having a browse and you are sure to find a collectable item at a bargain price!

The Book Lounge, Cape Town

The Book Lounge in Cape Town is a literary institution that regularly hosts events featuring famous authors. It opened in December 2007 and is a wonderful place to spend a few hours browsing the latest literary releases, while you enjoy a delicious cup of coffee, Every Saturday morning at 11am, you can bring your children for story time, after which they can browse the great kid’s book section.

Clarke’s Bookshop, Cape Town

This bookshop is located in the centre of Cape Town and since 1956 has been in the business of sourcing and selling everything from new to second-hand and out-of-print books about southern Africa. If you are passionate about books about southern African art, this is the place to visit!

Fables Bookshop, Grahamstown

Here in the heart of this famous settler town, you will find a fabulous bookshop that was founded in 1990. It is home to many out-of-print academic and specialist African titles and sells many hand-painted maps of the surrounding Eastern Cape.

Love Books, Johannesburg

As the name implies, if you love books you have to visit this store. Situated in the Bamboo Lifestyle Centre in eclectic Melville, it has a carefully curated selection of titles for both adults and children. It was started in 2009 and is a popular venue for book launches. They also host regular book clubs and have a story time for children every Saturday at 10am. As an added bonus, they also are exclusive stockists of Joostenberg wine from an old family farm in Stellenbosch.

Last Chance Books, Durban

Last Chance Books are based in Durban and they have a very busy second- hand bookstore, which can be found at the Stables Lifestyle Market in Durban where they have almost 4000 titles for sale. For collectors, they have an exclusive private collection that can be viewed by appointment. The private collection contains many first editions by famous South African authors including Ian Fleming, Wilbur Smith and J.M. Coetzee.

The Book Cottage, Hermanus

Like its name suggests, the Book Cottage is a bookstore in a quaint cottage in the picturesque town of Hermanus. The bookstore has a wide range of books that include bestsellers, local authors and children’s books. They also regularly host book launches and special readings.

Fogarty’s Bookshop, Port Elizabeth

This is one of the most-loved indie bookshops in South Africa and was started in 1946! It is one of the oldest independent bookshops in South Africa and is renowned for being a mecca for collectable books.

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