Varsha Book Stall – Panjim, Goa

If you like to browse your books to the music of honking cars and bikes, Varsha Book Stall is your cuppa tea. It is located near Cafe Prakash, that hoary old haunt of journos and armchair philosophers near Azad Maidan. This shop has a good selection of magazines and newspapers from the rest of the country and abroad. Its frontage is tiny, but the shop extends deeper like a book lined tunnel. Its owner Vaman Bhate happily opines that book reading is on the rise in Goa.

So quit cribbing about how there’s ‘nothing to do’ in the monsoon, go lose yourself in the pages of one of these lovely book dens of Goa!

Bookworm- Taleigao, Goa

Bookworm is not just a bookstore, but a place for children to discover, understand and enjoy books. This bookstore’s programme consists of four parts ― Library, Book Treasure, Mobile Outreach and Publishing. The library is the main idea behind the store, where children from anywhere can borrow books and enjoy them.

Book Treasure provides books and support to under-resourced schools and Mobile Outreach takes books to the poorest groups of people. The store also holds various events and workshops for children and parents throughout the year.

Golden Heart Emporium – Margao, Goa

This book shop in Margao has been around for decades, providing Salcete with fiction and non-fiction as well a large collection of textbooks in a separate section. Combined with its lending division, the Confidant Lending library, this nondescript shop on Rua Abade Faria holds thousands of books. Run by Walburg Coutinho and his family, Golden Heart is thriving today, proof that bookshops are still good business in Goa, despite tales of book-shop woe from around the world.

Singbal Book House – Panjim, Goa

Matt Damon famously walks past this bookstore in the movie Bourne Supremacy, giving it its 15 seconds of background fame, enough for locals to boast about. Located opposite the Panjim church on the corner of the unusual 5-road intersection, this bookstore is as much a newspaper stand as it is a bookshop. It hosts a wide range of local and international newspapers and magazines (including, of course, Goa Streets), some of which are quite rare, and a decent international book section.

Lotus Eaters – Anjuna, Goa

‘Lotus Eater’ means a person who lives life in a fog of laziness and dreams and is indifferent to the life outside of him, a sentiment embodied at this bookshop. The youngest of the shops in this list, it is located close to the Anjuna petrol pump. This book shop only deals with second hand books, and also buys old/used books. Apart from books, they also hold small communal gatherings for readers, where they read verses from favourite books and share ideas. Currently on a small break until August.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LotuseatersBookstore