Jeddah | 28 Muharram 1447 AH – July 23, 2025

Jeddah governorate is experiencing a notable cultural boom through the spread of used bookstores, which have become key destinations for knowledge and reading enthusiasts, combining authentic content with a wide range of interests and reflecting a growing cultural movement that enriches the city's creative scene.

These shops, scattered across a number of Jeddah neighbourhoods, offer a unique mix of used and new books spanning literature, religion, thought, history, science, philosophy and even world fiction, making them knowledge platforms and a lasting destination for those seeking rare titles or affordable reading material.

A used book, a renewed life. Abdulaziz Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, owner of one such shop, said second-hand bookstores help give books a new lease of life, noting that every used book carries a story and lives a new life with each new reader, adding that his shop holds rare titles including a copy of a book printed in the Kingdom in 1978 in a limited run of no more than 200 copies.

Reading as a way of life. Yousef Al-Qasim, an enthusiast in the field, said reading represents a way of life that enriches people and offers them a window onto the world, considering the circulation of used books among readers a knowledge bridge that crosses generations, giving books a priceless added value.

A cultural role that grows in summer. As part of summer activities, many bookstores are seeking to widen their presence through knowledge corners at cultural and recreational events, to draw visitors and encourage them to read, helping them discover knowledge treasures at nominal prices in an experience that enriches thought and nurtures literary taste.

These initiatives reflect community efforts to promote local culture and support knowledge sustainability by recycling books and widening the reader base across all ages and interests.