Bookworm
书虫店
|    Based on 28 Reviews | | Categories: Books & Magazines European | | 朝阳区三里屯南街4号楼 | | Cháoyángqū Sānlǐtún Nán Jiē 4 Hào Lóu | | Sanlitun Area 100000 |
+86 10 6586 9507 | | www.chinabookworm.com |
Tags: books(7) library(4) food(3) cafe(2) wireless(2) addicted(1) be(1) beer(1) |
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| Mon 9:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m. | Tue 9:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m. | Wed 9:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m. | | Thu 9:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m. | Fri 9:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m. | Sat 9:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m. | | Sun 9:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m. |
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| 28 Reviews |
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| Selected Review |
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| I think the negative reviews for the bookworm are unwarranted. After all these years the bookworm is still THE PLACE to go to buy hard to find books, attend literary events, or just sit around and read, write or network. If you are new to town, the bookworm is home base. If you have been here for a while it’s best to stop in every once in a while to touch base with those old friends (that you probably made years ago in the bookworm). The bookworm is, without exception, the best café / bookstore in Beijing – full stop. |
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| As a full time student in Beijing I am always looking for new and chilled coffee shops to spend my time studying. I came across Bookworm and decided to give it a go despite bad reviews. we all deserve a chance right? I couldn't have been any more wrong!! The place is pleasing to the eye but staff service is the worse I have seen in Beijing so far. I walked in and although I said a friendly hello to the staff I was ignored. I then found an empty table, 10 minutes later my menu arrived, after yet another 15 mins the waiter had not come back, so I had to go to the till to order myself, to angry staff!!! My coffee arrived 10 minutes later, it tasted burnt and was not the coffee I asked for. When I asked for the internet password, the waiter seemed almost angry that I had dared to speak to him. I am truly disappointed about a place that could have been a gem, is in fact just a sad waste of space, please do not give it a try... unless you have money and time to waste!!!! |
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When I describe what the bookworm is to friends or new to Beijingers I get a lot of puzzled looks. The bookworm is a library, bookstore, bar, restaurant, café and literary hub. There is no doubt that the bookworm has a very significant place in our lives here in Beijing. For travelers it is a home away from home, a place to snap up hard to find books and a comfortable café to get sound advice from people that have lived in Beijing long enough to know. That’s the good.
The not so good includes slow internet access, nearly unpalatable food and a poorly maintained structure. Too many internet surfers on one line is probably the reason for the slow wireless. Success comes with its downsides. Unfortunately, years of operation have done little to improve the food. Food sales clearly don't impact business otherwise they would have done something by now. Same goes with the facade and interior of the café.
Depending on who you talk to the good or bad weighs heavier. I know how to navigate the things I don't like so I quite enjoy it.
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| Strangely undocumented rooftop bar. Perfect for after work bottle of wine, drink, or conversation outside. Few patrons unlike many of the rooftops in this area. |
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Bookworm, despite the influx of other bookworm copies, is still the only and best option for literary culture in Beijing. Who else has the International Literary festival? Who else has regular visits from renown authors? Who else has such an interesting selection of books? Nobody, that’s who.
According to their website, there are now three bookworms in China: Beijing, suchow, and chengdu
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The Bookworm has evolved tremendously since its early days. Its biggest problem right now is so has the rest of Beijing, and the rest of Beijing is proving to be evolving better and faster.
We expats in BJ used to get giddy just having a place to sit with wireless, service everywhere sucked, anything close to the actual food we eat at home was much appreciated, and any coffee that wasn't of the instant kind was appreciated.
As a restaurant, although the food overall is okay, the Bookworm dishes are overpriced, service is bad, wait for food is too long, coffee is bad.
If this place is interested in surviving another couple years, putting prices in line with the reality of its product (maybe consider cutting prices 30%), and a serious focus on improving service could go a long way. |
| Tag: library food wireless |
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For someone who has a lot of time like me this is lovely place.
I am a fast reader so beleive me over a cup of coffee in an hour and half I finish reading a particular magazine !
I love talking and there are plenty of people whom I can say Hi to here.
Best part is no one bothers you -hey you are here for a long time!
The eats are expensive though. I perhaps could go to nearest Mcdonald at the Village for my eats . |
| Tag: Its good to be here |
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| Coral M. |
| I don't judge, i just tell it like it is. |
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5/13/2009 |
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ok ok, i get it, people like to come here for the networking, bla bla bla... literary fair blu ble bla....doesnt make the place any less of a shit hole. doesnt make the food any better.
and how is it possible to make coffee that bad???
the prices are ok, the selection kindda dismal, but the magazines are what draw me here. they have all the popular titles from back home (US), and thats just, well, nice and convenient. I miss magazines. i wish they were more proactive about calling people back when they put themselves on the "list" for books that they have "run out of", but they DONT. on 2 occasions now, ive gone in search for a title they didnt have in stock, only to write my info down on that notebook, never hear from them again, and walk into the store a month later and find the book i was coveting right in my face.... WTF?
whatever.
anyways, point is, if you want good magazines, this is a great place. but if you want new issues, get there early in the month, because the supply is limited and they run out.
for the books, if they dont have them, just order off amazon.cn, unless you like the waiting and stalking game.
and people that love this place.... ugh.... i have no words for you, other than, FIND A NEW PLACE. geez. stop defending it. it wont change the truth, you know. |
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Say what you will about the bookworm but it continues to be the only place in Beijing of its kind. When we first arrived, the bookworm felt familiar and gave us a sense of predictability otherwise lacking when living abroad. It was the place to meet new friends. We attended event after event and enjoyed meeting the authors and poets while learning more about the city around us. The bookworm was always a central spot to start the evening – “let’s get a drink at the bookworm then we will go to dinner from there.” But over time the bookworm got old. We lost interest, got bored and began meeting at other places. It was almost passé to meet at the bookworm because that’s where we went when we first arrived. Now we knew much more about the town and no longer need to use it as home base.
Yesterday, after more than six months away, I attended the FC club gathering on the rooftop. The weather was perfect, the crowd entertaining, and the bookworm felt warm and interesting again. I bought a few books and was given a free t-shirt. Although things have been moved around a bit, the bookworm remains familiar.
Today when I was recounting this story to friends they knew exactly what I was going to say. The same thing happened to them. “You can’t wait to leave home then afterward you realize how great home was,” my friend said. I agree. Bookworm is home.
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| The Bookworm has actually improved a lot over the past year. There were many problems last year with their book talks and they changed the format (entry now requires a paid ticket). The Bookworm is able to secure a number of high-profile authors and the talks are not only interesting but professionally managed by the staff. There's no question that the Bookworm has the best collection of China-related books and the prices are actually lower than some of the other bookstores. The food is OK, although it tends to be on the expensive side for what you're actually getting. Service tends to be on and off. It seems that the Chinese staff isn't very happy. Nonetheless, the Bookworm provides a good service for us 书呆子. |
| Tag: books, pasta |
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