Books n Bobs

Books n Bobs began in 2016 with Rachel Ang and an initial collection of one hundred books. The project grew around secondhand books and now combines an online catalog with a physical bookstore in Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur. Its history includes the opening of a first store at GMBB, Bukit Bintang, in December 2022 and its arrival in Taman Desa in November 2023. For readers, its most useful feature is also an operational distinction: the website and physical store carry different selections.

The catalog ranges through Asian literature, classics, contemporary fiction, mysteries, thrillers, romance, and speculative fiction, alongside comics and graphic novels. Nonfiction extends into history, biographies, science, business, languages, the arts, and cooking. Malaysiana brings together a selection connected with Malaysia, while vintage and collectible books, magazines, and bundles offer other ways to browse. Staff recommendations and new arrivals provide guidance within that variety.

Copies are classified by condition under categories such as Brand New, Like New, Very Good, Good, and Acceptable. That organization distinguishes a new book from a used one and allows the condition of a particular copy to be compared. The children’s section separates picture books, early reading, middle-grade books, and young adult literature, with educational and nonfiction categories. A search can therefore begin with genre, age group, or book condition.

BnB @37, the physical bookstore, occupies the ground floor at 37 Jalan Desa, Taman Desa, 58100 Kuala Lumpur. Visitors can browse the books available in the store and use its reading corner. The administrative office and warehouse are upstairs at 37-1 Jalan Desa, Taman Desa, 58100 Kuala Lumpur. Online orders can be collected from that warehouse by appointment; the two addresses sharing a building does not make their stock a single catalog.

The For Charity collection contains donated books and, according to the bookstore, directs part of that selection’s profits to Rumah KIDS. The business also maintains channels for donating or selling books, along with the BnB Coins program and a wish list for future purchases. They provide different ways to participate in the circulation of copies, from finding a next read to passing on books already read.

Bookmarks, reading lamps, bags, book stands, and bookends round out the offering. Books remain central, but the project organizes purchases around details that matter: a copy’s condition, online or in-store selection, and order pickup. That combination makes Books n Bobs a place to explore used books in Kuala Lumpur with a browsing structure that goes beyond accumulating titles.