If you think the Junk bookstore is full of junks, be prepared to find otherwise. It is a treasure spot for bookworms as it has more than 3 million books in stock, and you’ll wonder how the small shop fits it all.
Located along Jalan Tun H S Lee, Junk Bookstore is one of Kuala Lumpur’s longest-running secondhand bookstores and it is packed with books, comics and LP vinyl records.
The three-storey bookstore, operating since 1990, is owned by a couple Mr & Mrs Tan.
Upon entering the shop, the owners proudly display a certificate from the Malaysian Book of Records 1998 awarding them the title of the largest second hand bookstore in Malaysia.
Their first premise was a small space in Wisma Ann Koai in Jalan Ampang. But as their business grew, they had to search for bigger premises and within a few years, they settled on the current location in Jalan Tun H S Lee.
According to FMT, they are also selling some rare and old books that is worth a treasure. Some of their prized books is four volume of bibles, printed in 1831 and selling at RM20,000.
There is also a hard-cover book titled ‘Malayan Chinese Resistance to Japan 1937-1945 – Selected Source Materials’ with the price tag of RM18,000.
It is not an easy task to manage a store selling secondhand books considering the amount of books and also to make sure that the products are not damaged.
To handle that, they use spices such as star anise to keep away pesky silverfish from destroying the pages. They also have to wrap each book in plastic for hygiene purposes.
With all these books in the shop, you’ll probably have to spend hours over there for each visit. Who knows, you’ll find some treasure over here!
