By Roseline Gao. Cover image via Fuxing Used Bookstore official Facebook.
KAOHSIUNG — TaKaoBooks will host a free documentary screening Sunday, while visitors can browse secondhand books, vinyl records and older art publications at Mollie and Fuxing during the Oct. 9–11 Double Ten holiday.
TaKaoBooks (三餘書店), an independent bookstore in Sinsing District (新興區), will host a screening of Soul of Soil (《種土》) and a discussion with director Yen Lan-chuan (顏蘭權) on Sunday, Oct. 11, from 2 to 5 p.m. The documentary follows two farmers trying to restore damaged soil. One left a high-paying job at Hsinchu Science Park to make organic compost from food waste. The other tends a jujube orchard without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. The film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2024 Golden Horse Awards. The free event takes place on the bookstore’s third floor, with limited seating. Advance registration is required through the form on TaKaoBooks’ website.
Image via TaKaoBooks official Facebook .
Beyond independent bookstore events, visitors can browse secondhand books and records at Mollie Used Books’ Kaohsiung branch (茉莉二手書店高雄店) in Lingya District (苓雅區). The branch is open daily from noon to 9 p.m. The basement store carries more than 60,000 books, with sections for literature, comics, children’s books and foreign-language titles. It also sells CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, secondhand toys and collectible figures. Shoppers can look for books about Kaohsiung’s history or CDs by artists such as Eric Clapton and Taiwanese singer Winnie Hsin (辛曉琪)[RK1] . From Oct. 9 to 11, the store is also holding a draw for discount vouchers for shoppers spending at least NT$500 in a single purchase.
Image via Mollie Used Books’ Kaohsiung branch official Facebook .
For a more traditional option, there is Fuxing Used Bookstore (復興二手書店) in Sinsing District (新興區), open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and 3 to 10 p.m. on weekends. The shop has been run by the same family for two generations. Its selection includes novels, children’s books, and art publications. One customer was a shipping company that ordered 300 books for crew members to read and exchange at sea. Past finds include a book on Taiwanese painter Liu Chi-hsiang (劉啟祥) and a signed catalog from a 1998 art exhibition in Kaohsiung.
Image via Mollie Used Books official website.
For visitors taking public transportation, TaKaoBooks is about a five-minute walk from MRT Cultural Center Station (文化中心站). Mollie Used Books’ Kaohsiung branch is about a five-minute walk from the light rail’s Kaohsiung Exhibition Center Station (高雄展覽館站). Fuxing Used Bookstore is about a 10-minute walk from MRT Central Park Station (中央公園站).
