Books & Co. is a tiny cafe on Park Road up in the Mid-levels, across the street from St. Stephen's College. You can take the number 13, number 23 and 40M buses, get off when the bus rounds the corner of the HSBC. Books & Co. is right at the bus stop, but there's some construction going on, so don't miss it.
If you are a dude, I suggest not lingering around the area too much because St. Stephen's is a convent school for girls, and you know teen-aged girls are the most vicious commentators when it comes to guys. Shakespeare obviously didn't have a teen-aged daughter when he was talking about sharp serpents' teeth. Unless you feel like being exposed to a group of giggling girls who will stare at you and say rude things that will shrivel the hair on your balls, get your ass in the cafe quick-quick. Trust me on this, I'm a convent girl as well, and I'm no stranger to making guys cry.
The cafe is filled with secondhand books that you can read as you sit there or just buy. I always end up walking out with at least one book to replace the ones that I lost when I moved flats last March.
Cosy little nook where you can stare at passersby and make rude comments about them. Yes, it's hard to remove that convent training. Sister Dina, I will continue to make you proud!
Another cosy little nook.
According to my friend who studies at St. Stephen's (yes, I'm old enough to be her mother, but she is one of my closest friends, isn't that scary?), it gets really busy here around lunch time, and unless you want to have a side-eye staring contest with professional bitches over a table, don't show up till after two. I was here at around four in the afternoon, and it was really quiet and nice. The lady at the counter said that they're open every day until eleven at night.
The dude in the dark sweater was kind of cute. I wanted to get a picture but his unattractive friend kept getting in the way. Shoo! Don't stand in the way of handsomeness!
A cake and coffee tea set is about HKD40. Lunch is about HKD60 and up.
This place smells so wonderful, like coffee in a warm library. Love it.
