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Arriving at one of Taiwan’s major chain bookstores when I was in Taipei for a holiday in early 2019, I was a little confused. Even as the tour guide offered that the store was more than a bookstore, I was wondering how to make sense of the location. From how everything was set up, I felt I was at a Japanese department store. Perhaps this is also influenced by the fact that Taiwan was under the Japanese rule previously.

Notably but understandably, most of the books available were in Chinese, which I can’t read. But I didn’t walk out empty-handed. When I discovered the discounted section and that there were quite a number of English books, I scanned through for titles I thought were catchy. I ended up getting two for RM50, which I would say is not too bad, since many books in Malaysia I feel should be much more affordable – even when they’re on sale.

So when I read in the news that the same corporation is bringing its associated book/department store with space for cultural exchange, I was surprised. On the contrary, a number of its stores in Taiwan have shut, owing to the current, prolonged situation.

Even then, those responsible for bringing it to Southeast Asia remain optimistic. Books on retail at the venue in a mall in Kuala Lumpur will be in at least three languages.