You'll often hear people in Hong Kong, especially those who can't read Chinese, complain about the supposed lack of interesting bookshops in the city. In reality, there's quite a selection of rare, antiquarian, specialist and second-hand booksellers around town - you just have to know where to look.
They're fed by a small but growing market in Hong Kong for rare, old and expensive books, among collectors and people looking for unusual gifts, while several specialist bookshops are flourishing, especially those that focus on Hong Kong and the mainland - both their history and their current affairs.
Meanwhile, there's an increasing acceptance of second-hand books, say bookshop owners - but running a low-margin business like that in a city with sky-high rents is a tough ask. Still, there are several that bravely soldier on, providing a valued place to read, browse and hang out as well as to buy.
Here are our picks of the city's most interesting bookstores - ones where the books don't come in an annoying cellophane wrapping.
Hong Kong Reader
One of the city's more high-minded bookstores, Hong Kong Reader is a true labour of love. Established in 2007 by three friends who had studied philosophy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, it focused initially on books about philosophy; after talking to customers, that broadened to a range of academic and cultural subjects.
With its mixture of Chinese and English books, co-owner Daniel Lee says the shop's biggest sellers these days are books about Hong Kong current affairs and society, with an increasing number of its overwhelmingly young clientele interested in social activism. 'After the 2008 financial crisis, many people started to rethink the social situation, especially in regard to capitalism and the environment.'