I would like to let the visitors to this bookshop know that this bookstore is not the same as Gerak Budaya KL with friendly, warm and welcoming staff. It's totally different brand but use the same name, it's really confusing. The receptionist staff (she refused to tell me her name, so I can only say her as Indian lady) was so rude to me as she didn't allow me to take photo. I asked why can't I take photo of myself at this bookstore her replied was so ill-mannered; "it's so annoying when people taking photo here". I couldn't take her rude replies, then left the bookstore immediately. There was no sign of no photo taking as well. The staff didn't reflect the slogan "Ruang Surat dan Seni". There was no art or courtesy in talking politely to readers/customers. If the owner reads this, you definitely need to improve customer experience at your bookstore and please train them how to talk to customers. You may check your staff that on date on 29th Dec 2022 between 12.30pm-1.00pm. ----------------------- This is in response to what the owner replied. You clearly didn't get my point. It's not about you company policy to ban photography. There are other places who ban photography such as military base, museum etc. It's about your rudeness of your staff that says, "It's annoying when customers take photographs". You can tell your customers politely. Didn't you read the other visitors reviews on this page? Check out my 2nd photo of your entrance, you put up a No photography sign. If you want to put a sign, put it properly until people can see, don't hide it behind the bookshelves. You get the customer's point? or still trying to brush off ?

The customer service is really bad, they were staring rudely from the start, when we were asking for price, as they did not paste the price tags, they act like we act like we could not afford waste their time. The storekeeper bang the shelf doors, crossed her arms etc when serving us (which is an indian lady). I truly believe this is not an attitude any store should possess althought it might be rare to have these kind of bookshops in the area. Do not judge a book by its cover. Any future customers do consider wisely when supporting the shop.

It was a nice and beautiful bookstore. Looks welcoming. However I was rudely shouted at by the receptionist as I entered. She yelled at me for taking picture of the door. I apologised but she kept on ranting about not asking for permission. I told her we are her customer and she should not be so rude! I bought a few books and I was out of there😅

Very very very bad attitude of the workers there, book store meant to be browsing around lookibg for good books right? Keep staring at customer, then when asking about the price she keep shaking the head, then we are looking for the same series of book collection on phone, she was like getting mad on us who looking at phone then smash the book rack so hard, until all of us don't want to buy the books anymore. Don't go please!!!!

It's bigger than one in Jalan Masjid Kapitan and specialize in non fiction. The space ia cozy, comfortable plus, there ia a cafe at the back! The selection of books are splendid and nicely curated, the staff are g Helpful and nice. I had a good time here.

I can’t believe these comments! Go to a bookstore for books and not for your social media account so people think you read books .. even though you don’t. If You are looking for english books (fiction or non-fiction) this is the place! I loved it and I could have bought 10 books. You’ll find authors from all around the world. Great!

I share the same sentiment with the other reviewers here - the customer service was subpar. In fact, the staff made us feel bad for asking any questions at all. Book selections-wise, GerakBudaya has a wider range of selections compared to the other nearby local bookstores. We had to ask for the book price one by one as none of the books have price tags on them. To make things worse, the bookstore smells like cigarette smoke which makes the shopping/browsing experience very unpleasant.

Typical Librarian Very rude better not flip the books I seldom write a review but this is the worst book shop I’d ever went Perhaps it’s the kind of budaya they have hahaha A big nope book shop. As a local I won’t step in again Thank you

Gerakbudaya has great selection of local books on history of Penang and its architecture. However, the owner/the person in-charge is plain cold and hostile to customers as repeatedly mentioned in other reviews. They do not exhibit the friendly warm vibes like other booksellers in KL. Only friendly and welcoming to the 'ang mohs' and expats. No wonder the other branch closed down last year. I personally encounter the rude behavior when I came to collect event tickets for author's meet & greet/book discussion, the lady kept on bugging me with 'this event is for limited participants' 'ARE YOU SURE YOU CAN COME' 'WE DO NOT WANT TO WASTE THE TICKETS IF YOU CANNOT COME'. HELLO, I came all the way from KL to collect the tickets for the event, OF COURSE I PLAN TO ATTEND. Just dont understand why she even bother to be in this business when she doesnt even project the warm 'budaya' in her mannerism. Need to have professional sense of ethics dealing with customers or else just close down lahh

I've been to many, many bookstores locally and abroad. And honestly? Gerakbudaya has the absolute worst customer service. The worker looks like she's PMS-ing 24/7. Never seen her smile. And I remember hearing a loud commotion during my 1st visit there where she looked visibly upset. I've been to kedai runcits with 10x better customer service. All you need to do is be warm and polite. And maybe smile a little. Suffice to say I'm never stepping foot in this bookstore ever again. Bad vibes. Bad juju. Bad for my wallet. Complete waste of time. p/s: I found 2 of the books at BookXcess in Gurney Paragon sold at over 50% less than in Gerakbudaya.

The staff are not friendly as we enter to greet them but they're ignoring us. Some of the book's condition is yellowish as not wrapping by plastic cover & no price tag.

We have our very own place here that's recommended as A Place You Should Visit Before You Die by the Belgian Imprint, Lanoo Publishers. It's not just a bookshop, (bookshop, not a bookstore, they don't store books, they sell them), there are books and artworks launches as well, and talks around these scheduled regularly. Recently, they've even got the privilege as one of the only two bookshops in Malaysia to sell Tan Twang Eng's first edition novel from his UK publisher. That's basically an international recognition. If you're into award-winning films this is also the place for it. We get to watch and 'judge' Everything Everywhere All At Once way early without any Oscar or BAFTA national pride prejudice that came after it got really famous. The film screenings are scheduled three nights a week, curated in a different theme each month. Last month's theme in particular, 'Women on the verge...', brought award-winning films directed by women around the topic of feminism - its meanings and co-existing with the other gender. With each of these films, you were encouraged to peel the layers within and continue the sentence as a reflection of yourself. It was particularly moving for me, as I reflected on myself through each week's film - there were visible frustrations and even hatred managed to make it near the surface of my consciousness. Of course, these strong negative emotions are meant to be understood, acknowledged, and eventually to make peace with and neutralized so they won't suddenly make an ugly appearance at any random triggers you might not expect. With that, I'm thankful. So yes, this is a place I go to unwind from my rigid technical world, to connect with people at human level and to allow myself to be vulnerably human - basically to have my dose of practice at being human. 🤍!

Interesting selection of books, but I can understand why people are upset by the staff's attitude. They were rude and unpleasant... and it's funny to see that this is a reoccuring problem based on the reviews. If you want more people to indulge in the local literary and arts scene, take people's feedback into consideration and be more open and welcoming. If your goal is to gatekeep and put people off, you're doing a great job!

Beautiful bookshop, with a wide range of current affair books and fiction. Staff were friendly and helpful.

One of the few bookstores with unique high quality books, perfect for gift giving. They run more expensive than the larger chains such as MPH and Popular, but the books here are unique. I found many books here that I did not see in the shopping malls. Downside is there are savage mosquitoes that kept following me everywhere I went so I was unfortunately not as calm and at peace as I usually am in bookstores. If they could fix the mosquito issue, then the bookstore would be great!

Good selection of books, unfortunately the prices weren’t listed clearly. I browsed and left quickly because the staff’s displeasure was apparent from the moment I entered and it made me uneasy.

Bookstore is really cool. But parking your car here is a nightmare. Better come by Grab or something!

In these days of ebooks era, there are few good bookstores left. This is one of them. Some good books for Malaysia / SEA.

It is a small independent book store in George Town, curating mostly books on politics, arts, food (not just recipe books), poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Occasionally hosting small exhibitions, performances, screening, and artist-in-residence.

Classy bookstore that let you read books for hours Recommend for all

I also noticed the sign No photography allowed. Luckily i saw that before i even attempted to take a photo. The shouting lady in other comments we're actually Quite nice to me. Maybe She is just rude when seeing people taking photos? No idea. It has a good selection of books. And upstairs The owner has set up a movie screening space with regular screening sessions of his curated movies.i think to was quite a nice experience for a tourist like who basically had no clue what i was walking into. Movie was 15rm. You can ask their Staff for a schedule.

Not that much book but everything it's okay In that shop had a tiny gallery in side

Excellent source for local, regional Asian authors & titles and a wide range of world authors, too. Helpful staff - a beautiful & comfortable bookstore.

Do not confuse hikayat with Gerak Budaya at Klang Valley. They are not related, although share similar name and offer similar spectrum of books. They carried arrays of interesting titles on sociocultural development of penang and contemporary Malaysia. Some were critical of current sociopolitical situation and gave you a different perspective of latest issues affecting local people. Book price is on a higher side. Staffs were helpful. Top shelf may be difficult to reach by people who are vertically challenged. Suggest to provide a little stool or ladder!

Super nice bookshop with an interesting and eclectic offering. Staff were nice and helpful and offered up some useful info on the current art exhibition which is a must see as the work is remarkable.

Good place to find rare books

The shop looks good and they have a wide selection of genre. However, the workers are very rude. Most of the books doesn’t have a price tag on them . When enquiring about the price and info. The workers are very rude and not helpful at all. Very bad customer service. A word of advice, please work on your customer service if u would to encourage people about local literature.

More than a bookstore! Great selection of books, wonderful people and good coffee as well. Must stop there.

Helpful and knowledgeable staff. Some beautiful books on local topics and a great selection of world literature too.

The place happened to screen a movie I was interested to see. It was a very pleasant experience as a tourist, watching this movie with just a few spectators, while sipping tea

“Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge… is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world. It requires profound purpose larger than the self kind of understanding” I would certainly suspend my ego for the joy of an excellently curated bookstore. Not everything is about business. Some things money can’t buy. And for a bibliophile, the only thing that matters is simply a book.

my fav bookstore in penang, cool place, good location , specialised collection of books. All the best.