Crane Publishing: English Cafe

(07) 227-0888
88-2F, TongCing Road, LingYa District, Kaohsiung (Close to Culture Centre off HePing Road)
Hours: Mon - Sat 10 am-7 pm
Visa and Mastercards accepted.
http://www.crane.com.tw (Website currently under construction)

-- By Adelina Holmes Translated by Annie Liu

Hidden from view on the second floor of a standard looking apartment building, the English Cafe provides a quiet and relaxed atmosphere to catch up on your reading. Crane Publishing has offices in Taipei and Taichung, but for Kaohsiung they decided on a different approach. The cafe bookstore boasts free internet access, a range of snacks and beverages for sale and a comfortable environment so you can settle in to peruse their stock of well over one thousand titles. Nibble a piece of tuna-topped toast for NT$45 or get involved in a literary discussion over a cappuccino for NT$65.

Located a short walk away from Kaohsiung Normal University (by the Culture Centre), students and lecturers alike make frequent use of this cafe as a quiet study spot. There is a twice-weekly discussion group held in English about the latest trends in the teaching profession, and speakers famous in their field hold free seminars. The latest speaker was Stephen D. Krashen, author of the Power of Reading (Heinemann) among other well-thumbed titles. The English Cafe welcomes such events and will even change the layout of the space depending on the speaker's needs. (Call ahead to book.)
As to the types of books on offer, the central theme is resources for EFL teachers, but this is wide, ranging from Teacher's Resources: activity kits, the latest books on evolving teaching theory; to Linguistics: phonology, phonetics and the history of language. The resources cover the spectrum from kindergarten teacher all the way to PHD Professor.

Spend NT$2000 at one time (which in this well-stocked bookstore is very easy to do!) and receive a membership card entitling you to 15% off any future purchases. There are weekly special price sales on selected titles. Look for the Crane Publishing sign above the decorative tea-set shop.