Best secondhand and rental bookstores in KL

Do you prefer your books to have a bit of character? Roll up your sleeves and score a literary gem or two at these top secondhand and rental bookstores in KL. 

Jumble Station

Jumble Station is a community outreach initiative by the NGO Parents Without Borders to help raise funds for single parents. There’s a small corner in the shop that sells secondhand books which were donated by the public. Get three books for RM10, two for RM8 and one for RM5.

Address:

	The School Jaya One 72A Jalan Universiti Petaling Jaya 46200
Opening hours:	Daily, 10.30am-8pm

Kedai Buku

Mr Velu and his younger brother have been manning the shop since 1986, providing locals and tourists a place to browse pre-loved books – with new ones among the stash. The titles are all fiction, though there’s a shelf dedicated to travel guides. Return the book after reading and you’ll receive a refund, minus a small rental fee.

Address:

	Ground floor Central Market Jalan Hang Kasturi Kuala Lumpur 50050
Opening hours:	Daily, 10am-9pm

Junk Bookstore

It’s one of KL’s longest-running secondhand book stores, and packed to the brim with literary gems, comics and LPs. You’ll have to scrabble a bit (books are arranged loosely by genre), but it’s worth putting in the hours as books start from a couple of ringgit each.

Address:

	78 Jalan Tun HS Lee Kuala Lumpur 50050
Opening hours:	Mon-Fri, 8.30am-5pm; Sat, 8.30am-2pm

Boardgame Depot

As well as stocking over three hundred kinds of board games, Boardgame Depot is a friendly cafe and hang out for regular boardgamers to meet and play over a drink and snack. Board games span the full range of war strategy, fantasy, family, and party games (they stock more than 300 games). There's also a secondhand book service where readers can buy or rent books. Regular gamers pay a membership fee and receive discounts on the purchase of games. 

Address:

	16A Lorong Ara Kiri 3 Lucky Garden Kuala Lumpur 59100
Opening hours:	Tue-Sun, 12noon-9pm

Reader's Paradise

This narrow book shop has been in business since the late 1990s and is now co-owned by Jeet and Shima. Even though it focuses on rental services, visitors are welcome to purchase the mix of secondhand novels, autobiographies and magazines lining the shelves. Upon payment, you’re given a month to return the book for refund, after which it’s yours.

 Address:

	First floor Ampang Point Shopping Centre Jalan Mamanda 3 Taman Dato Ahmad Razali Kuala Lumpur 68000
Opening hours:	Daily, 10am-10pm

Buku Terpakai

With an offbeat location and no signage, keep an eye out for a store with a half-opened shutter; take a peek and you’ll see rows of shelves. Buku Terpakai is a bit like a bundle store for books – also a bit of a nightmare for the obsessive-compulsive, as the books aren’t really divided into sections. But with a bit of effort, you’ll find gems here. On our visit it was James Joyce’s ‘Dubliner’ whose margins were full of footnotes on almost every page (fun fact: the store owner sources the books from old bookstores and university libraries). Besides books you’ll also find old stamps, Super 8 film reels, cassettes and old magazines.

Address:

	6 Jalan SP3/7 Saujana Puchong Selangor 47110
Opening hours:	Daily, 9am-4.30pm