I've stated a few times over the years that bookstores in Taiwan are kind of like free buffets. That is you can read all you want while you are there, for free. I still remember how shocking it was the first time I went in a bookstore and saw maybe 20 people just sitting on the floor reading, and no workers telling them to buy it or leave.
This is extremely popular with women. So much so that I don't really understand why guys don't go to bookstores to pick up ladies, cause bookstores are the one place any time of day that you will find a lot of women.
This particular bookstore is the most popular one to go to in Taipei. it's not the biggest, but it is open 24 hours. I actually had never been in this one before, and since everybody likes to go here, I thought maybe it would be like a meeting spot, where people just go to see and be seen. But it really just was packed with people sitting on the ground reading books.
On the one hand it's really cool that bookstores allow people to read books for free. I have quite a few friends who will go to a book store and read the same book to competition over a few visits then start on another book. But as on this visit I was actually looking for specific books, it was kind of annoying having to make my way through a mine field of people underfoot, trying my best not to step on anybody. Also there were some people in front of the shelf of books i wanted to look at. And I've said it many times before, the social awareness in Taiwan is pretty poor, so they were not so accommodating.
But really I know it was my fault. I was going to a bookstore trying to use it for my western view of what a bookstore is, a place to buy books. I was not there with the mindset that a bookstore is a place where you sit down on the floor and read. Silly foreigner!
