Bookstores in Dubai
Bookstores reward the browsers. Dubai, Dubai has 63 mapped right now. That's 63 bookshops mapped around Dubai, each with its own shelves and specialties. The used sections are where the real bargains hide.
This guide covers every bookstore we could verify in and around Dubai (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include Al Elm Book Shop and Dubai Library Distributors, plus Ansar Book Shop. If a bookshop's missing from Dubai's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Dubai bookstore lineup
63 mapped within about 40 km — showing the 60 closest to Dubai, nearest first:
Al Elm Book Shop
Bookstore0.5 km from Dubai
Al Elm Book Shop is Bookstore on 19a Street.
19a Street
Dubai Library Distributors
Bookstore0.5 km from Dubai
Dubai Library Distributors — Bookstore on Naif Road.
Naif Road
Ansar Book Shop
Bookstore0.7 km from Dubai
Ansar Book Shop is Bookstore on 20 Street.
20 Street
Borders
Bookstore0.8 km from Dubai
Borders is Bookstore.
Future Bookshop
Bookstore2.3 km from Dubai
Future Bookshop is Bookstore.
Dar Al Fadeela Book Shop
Bookstore2.5 km from Dubai
Dar Al Fadeela Book Shop is Bookstore on 108/1 Road.
108/1 Road
Book World Library
Bookstore2.5 km from Dubai
Book World Library is Bookstore on Karama.
Karama
Accurate Books
Bookstore2.6 km from Dubai
Accurate Books — Bookstore on 18A Street.
18A Street
Al Warana Book Shop
Bookstore3.5 km from Dubai
Al Warana Book Shop is Bookstore on 43a Street.
43a Street
Dubai Public Library Distributors
Bookstore3.7 km from Dubai
Dubai Public Library Distributors — Bookstore on Salah Al Din Street.
Salah Al Din Street
Al Imam Al Bukhari Islamic Book Shop & Recording
Bookstore3.8 km from Dubai
Al Imam Al Bukhari Islamic Book Shop & Recording — Bookstore on Abu Hail Street.
Abu Hail Street
مكتبة الامام البخاري
Bookstore3.9 km from Dubai
مكتبة الامام البخاري — Bookstore.
Al Maqta Books Trading
Bookstore4.3 km from Dubai
Al Maqta Books Trading — Bookstore.
Dar Al Foqahaa
Bookstore4.8 km from Dubai
Dar Al Foqahaa — Bookstore on Street 6b.
Street 6b
Ramsis Bookshop & Stationery
Bookstore6.8 km from Dubai
Ramsis Bookshop & Stationery — Bookstore on 32a street.
32a street
Al Falah Book Shop
Bookstore7.7 km from Dubai
Al Falah Book Shop — Bookstore.
Kinokuniya
Bookstore8.5 km from Dubai
Kinokuniya — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Kinokuniya: the map lists its hours as Mo-Th 10:00-22:00;Fr-Su 10:00-24:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Hours: Mo-Th 10:00-22:00;Fr-Su 10:00-24:00
Phone: +971 4 4340111
Kinokuniya
Bookstore8.5 km from Dubai
Kinokuniya — Bookstore.
Daroob Al Marefa Bookshop
Bookstore9.2 km from Dubai
Daroob Al Marefa Bookshop — Bookstore on 11 Street.
11 Street
Al Madinah Book Shop
Bookstore9.4 km from Dubai
Al Madinah Book Shop — Bookstore on 17 Street.
17 Street
Family Bookshop
Bookstore9.7 km from Dubai
Family Bookshop — Bookstore on Jamal Abdul Naser Street.
Jamal Abdul Naser Street
Family Book Shop
Bookstore9.8 km from Dubai
Family Book Shop — Bookstore on Jamal Abdul Naser Street.
Jamal Abdul Naser Street
مكتبة كلمات
Bookstore10.0 km from Dubai
مكتبة كلمات — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about مكتبة كلمات: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Phone: +971 50 115 0650
Comic Stop
Bookstore10.4 km from Dubai
Comic Stop — Bookstore, found on 2d Street in دبي.
2d Street, دبي
Ak Mashkoor Book Shop
Bookstore11.0 km from Dubai
Ak Mashkoor Book Shop — Bookstore on Al Ezz Bin Abdulsalam Street.
Al Ezz Bin Abdulsalam Street
University bookshop
Bookstore11.0 km from Dubai
University bookshop is Bookstore on King Faisal Street.
King Faisal Street
University Book Store
Bookstore11.1 km from Dubai
University Book Store is Bookstore on King Faisal St..
King Faisal St.
Hira Bookshop
Bookstore11.1 km from Dubai
Hira Bookshop — Bookstore on Al Jabarti Street.
Al Jabarti Street
Goal sports aware
Bookstore11.3 km from Dubai
Goal sports aware — Bookstore.
مكتبة وتسجيلات البلاغ
Bookstore11.3 km from Dubai
مكتبة وتسجيلات البلاغ — Bookstore.
Al Ilimiyah
Bookstore11.4 km from Dubai
Al Ilimiyah is Bookstore on Al Fakeh Bin Basheer Street.
Al Fakeh Bin Basheer Street
Book Mart
Bookstore11.9 km from Dubai
Book Mart — Bookstore on 8th Street.
8th Street
Bab Al Marifa
Bookstore12.0 km from Dubai
Bab Al Marifa is Bookstore on Anas Bin Muath Street.
Anas Bin Muath Street
Goyal Book Shop
Bookstore12.1 km from Dubai
Goyal Book Shop — Bookstore on Um Al Tarafa Street.
Um Al Tarafa Street
Noor Al Maaref Book Shop
Bookstore12.1 km from Dubai
Noor Al Maaref Book Shop is Bookstore on Al Miqdad Bin Amr Street.
Al Miqdad Bin Amr Street
Dar Al Salheen Bookshop
Bookstore12.4 km from Dubai
Dar Al Salheen Bookshop — Bookstore on Sheikh Saqr Bin Khalid Al Qasimi Street.
Sheikh Saqr Bin Khalid Al Qasimi Street
Al Nooran
Bookstore12.4 km from Dubai
Al Nooran is Bookstore on Mubasher Bin Abdulmunther Street.
Mubasher Bin Abdulmunther Street
Dar Al Hayat Bookshop
Bookstore12.4 km from Dubai
Dar Al Hayat Bookshop is Bookstore on Sheikh Saqr Bin Khalid Al Qasimi Street.
Sheikh Saqr Bin Khalid Al Qasimi Street
Al Ameen Book Shop
Bookstore12.5 km from Dubai
Al Ameen Book Shop is Bookstore on Abi Al Atahia Street.
Abi Al Atahia Street
Al Munna Bookshop
Bookstore12.5 km from Dubai
Al Munna Bookshop is Bookstore on Abi Al Atahia Street.
Abi Al Atahia Street
Dar Al Haramain Book Shop
Bookstore13.5 km from Dubai
Dar Al Haramain Book Shop — Bookstore.
Al Ummah Bookshop & Recording
Bookstore13.6 km from Dubai
Al Ummah Bookshop & Recording — Bookstore on Sheikh Zayed Street.
Sheikh Zayed Street
Darussalam Bookstore
Bookstore13.6 km from Dubai
Darussalam Bookstore is Bookstore on Sheikh Zayed Street.
Sheikh Zayed Street
Dar Aloulum Bookshop
Bookstore13.6 km from Dubai
Dar Aloulum Bookshop is Bookstore on Sheikh Zayed Street.
Sheikh Zayed Street
Alpha Book Shop
Bookstore14.2 km from Dubai
Alpha Book Shop is Bookstore on Al Sharq Street.
Al Sharq Street
BORDERS
Bookstore15.7 km from Dubai
BORDERS — Bookstore.
Dubai Library Distributors
Bookstore15.8 km from Dubai
Dubai Library Distributors — Bookstore.
Borders
Bookstore19.9 km from Dubai
Borders is Bookstore.
Al Fuad Book Shop
Bookstore20.0 km from Dubai
Al Fuad Book Shop — Bookstore on 135 Kuwait Street.
135 Kuwait Street
Typing
Bookstore20.7 km from Dubai
Typing — Bookstore.
Al Faiha Bookshop
Bookstore20.7 km from Dubai
Al Faiha Bookshop is Bookstore on Street 61.
Street 61
Al Ihsan Books Binding
Bookstore21.3 km from Dubai
Al Ihsan Books Binding is Bookstore.
Saliha
Bookstore21.7 km from Dubai
Saliha is Bookstore on Saif Al Hamrani Street.
Saif Al Hamrani Street
Al Wasel
Bookstore23.1 km from Dubai
Al Wasel is Bookstore on Sheikh Maktoom Bin Rashid Al Maktoom Street.
Sheikh Maktoom Bin Rashid Al Maktoom Street
Dar Al Harameen Book Shop
Bookstore24.3 km from Dubai
Dar Al Harameen Book Shop is Bookstore.
Borders
Bookstore24.5 km from Dubai
Borders is Bookstore.
Borders
Bookstore27.9 km from Dubai
Borders is Bookstore.
Borders
Bookstore31.2 km from Dubai
Borders is Bookstore.
New Era Book Shop - Al Furjan Pavillion
Bookstore31.4 km from Dubai
New Era Book Shop - Al Furjan Pavillion is Bookstore. New Era Book Shop - Al Furjan Pavillion also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as 10:00-22:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
Hours: 10:00-22:00
Phone: +971 441 0 7639
Borders
Bookstore33.6 km from Dubai
Borders is Bookstore.
What the map tells us about bookstores in Dubai
2 of the 63 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — bookshops keep civilised hours, so the listed ones are usually reliable.
There's a cluster: 3 of them sit on Sheikh Zayed Street, so you can string those into one walk and drive between the rest.
The Dubai bookstore crawl
Plot these on a map and the day plans itself: Al Elm Book Shop on 19a Street, Dubai Library Distributors on Naif Road, Ansar Book Shop on 20 Street, Borders, Future Bookshop, Dar Al Fadeela Book Shop on 108/1 Road, Book World Library on Karama, and Accurate Books on 18A Street. That's 63 stops on the Dubai bookstore crawl. 55 more are listed below.
Bookstore tips for Dubai
The regulars' playbook for Dubai's bookshops:
- Check the sale shelf rhythm at Al Elm Book Shop. Shops clear shelves on cycles. Ask when the next cull happens — that's when the bargains land.
- Learn your editions at Dubai Library Distributors. A first edition, first printing is the collectible one. Booksellers will show you how to check the copyright page.
- Magazines and journals matter. The little-magazine rack is where new writers appear first. Cheap, weird, and full of discoveries.
- Learn the remainders table. Publisher overstocks sold cheap. Great for gift buying — new books at used prices.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Dubai — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new bookstore in Dubai can take a while to appear. If you spot one of the 63 that's closed, or a great bookstore we missed, the fix is to update the map itself — that's where this guide reads from.
We don't list prices — they change constantly and vary by edition. What we list is the where: real shops, verified by real mappers, in alphabetical order with no favourites.
If you run one of the 63 listed here and something's wrong — a closure, a move, new hours — the fix is the same: update the shop on OpenStreetMap and the correction flows through to this page on the next daily refresh.
Bookstore listings for Dubai: 63 mapped from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photo credits appear in captions. Listing data was last refreshed automatically — verify hours before visiting.