# Puebla - Looking for English Language Books, help!



## quinta (Mar 8, 2009)

Does anyone know of any source for English Language Books? My son is completing his High School via Internet from the US and he needs books to complete his work. I've only found some paperbacks and this is not what we need at all....

Is there an English Library here? Anything that could help? I'd really appreciate any suggestions..... thanks


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

There is a bookstore which supplies English texts, including those needed by medical students and others at the University of Guadalajara. It is popular with the thousands of expats at Lake Chapala. You might give them a call and see if they can satisfy your needs and I'm sure they will ship to you:
SANDI BOOKSTORE, Guadalajara, Mexico, Tepeyac #718, Colonia Chapalita, Guadalajara, Jalisco. Tel: (33) 3121-0863, (33) 3121-4210 Fax: (33) 3647-4600. ...
OUTDOORS IN WESTERN MEXICO


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## jlms (May 15, 2008)

Just use Amazon...


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## quinta (Mar 8, 2009)

*Amazon*



jlms said:


> Just use Amazon...


Tried that once before and while the prices were great, one took over 2 months to arrive and the other was held by customs and we got a notice saying that I needed to pay $500 pesos of duty for it.....

I'm trying to see if I can download the electronic books Amazon has (for the Kindle) to my desktop and go from there, that would be ideal.... I'll see


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

As a result of what is described above, Amazon may not ship to Mexico from the USA. That said, I have had the UK franchise of Amazon ship books to me at my Mexican address and they arrived via UPS in just four days, without duty. Yes, the freight was more than the books! That's just the way it is.


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

The cheapest shipping rates from any international bookseller is BetterWorld, only $3.97 per book, but they usually take 4—5 weeks to arrive. I've also had good book deals through eBay sellers; check the USPS website (or Royal Mail in the case of a UK seller) to see what the postage is costing the seller, and they should be charging you only a reasonable markup on that figure for packaging and handling. 

Time varies greatly; up to 6 weeks but typically 2—4 weeks. However in the case of small packages with only one or two small paperbacks, I've had them arrive in as little as 6 days from both US and UK sellers, by standard mail (i.e. not expedited delivery).


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## quinta (Mar 8, 2009)

*BetterWorldBooks!*



maesonna said:


> The cheapest shipping rates from any international bookseller is BetterWorld, only $3.97 per book, but they usually take 4—5 weeks to arrive. I've also had good book deals through eBay sellers; check the USPS website (or Royal Mail in the case of a UK seller) to see what the postage is costing the seller, and they should be charging you only a reasonable markup on that figure for packaging and handling.
> 
> Time varies greatly; up to 6 weeks but typically 2—4 weeks. However in the case of small packages with only one or two small paperbacks, I've had them arrive in as little as 6 days from both US and UK sellers, by standard mail (i.e. not expedited delivery).


Thank you so much for the tip on BetterWorldbooks, I checked on them and they are awesome, a real possibility!!! THANK You....


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## AdePuebla (Jun 4, 2009)

Hi! I actually joined this forum to ask this same question! Glad there was already a thread about it. i'm not really looking for text books though, actually trying to find out if there are any bookstores that sell english novels? Wonder if they'd have one at the airport?


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

Yes, several airport stores have an English novel section (mostly just best sellers of the moment). Also any Sanborns throughout the city will have the 10 or so best-selling paperbacks in English. 

The flagship Gandhi bookstore on Miguel Angel de Quevedo has a quirky selection of English novels—usually things you won't find anywhere else.

Similar to the airport, but with a considerably more extensive selection can be found at a bookstore/café in Polanco. Sorry, I can’t remember the exact location. What I do remember is that it’s on the north side of a major street running east-west (maybe Masaryk), probably near the corner of Temistocles or Galileo or thereabouts.

If you enjoy doing the used-book hunter thing, go to Donceles/Justo Sierra street (downtown, 1 block north of the Cathedral). There are plenty of used book stores on this street, and most of them have one English table where you can root through piles of dusty paperbacks and make some amazing finds. A few of them even have more extensive English fiction collections.


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## AdePuebla (Jun 4, 2009)

Thanks, that'll get me started! 
I've read all the books i've brought with me... need more...


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## quinta (Mar 8, 2009)

*English books*

Unfortunately maesonna, your suggestions are all in Mexico City and no in Puebla. Sanborn's only has the Best Seller List but nothing of substance, there is a British Bookstore downtown but they don't even speak English so it's been hard spelling it all, lol....
Next time you're in the US (or have someone bring) get a Kindle from Amazon, then you can download it all in a second! I'm working on translating my food and travel blog to put it on there and more and more types of media are there plus thousands of books! No more shipping fees.
Yes, I know it's not the same as holding a book in your hands, but with the shipping problems (can you believe the UK send items better than from the US? Yes, it's true!) digital will be the way to go.....
If anyone finds a better source, let us all know.....


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## jlms (May 15, 2008)

Try the BookMooch website also. The difference is that you are not buying anything, thus the sender can label the book as a gift without commercial value, in that case customs have no say in the matter.


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## jlms (May 15, 2008)

*Duty for books?*



quinta said:


> Tried that once before and while the prices were great, one took over 2 months to arrive and the other was held by customs and we got a notice saying that I needed to pay $500 pesos of duty for it.....
> 
> I'm trying to see if I can download the electronic books Amazon has (for the Kindle) to my desktop and go from there, that would be ideal.... I'll see


Mexico has free trade agreements with both the US and the EU, as well as several other countries (but for English books Canada, the UK and US shops should suffice).

Maybe was costumes pulling a fast one!


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## quinta (Mar 8, 2009)

In a perfect world this would work, however to this date, I've never been able to get a "gift" delivered without customs asking for quite a bit of money. Sent a chenille robe to my husband's aunt, made in US, (got it on special in Las Vegas for $29.99!), but she still got a call from customs telling her that since it was an expensive imported Chinese robe, the duty was $3000 pesos! She returned it and was never seen again.... Tried getting the latest John Grisham novel from Amazon in the US and after months of waiting gave up. Have gotten some books from Amazon UK though and costs are comparable. Guess if you buy books often Kindle would be cheaper in the long run. We can buy books in Spanish (we're all 100% fluent) but we like then in original language since some things don't translate the same (and I'm a translator-interpreter).
Cheapest way we've found is to have friends who are coming from the US (for small items they can place in their suitcases) bring them as gifts, even when they live somewhere else, for $120 pesos Estafeta can deliver it next day and the price difference between here and the US makes it worth it. (Just got a video game for my son, came by my girl friend from Merida. Had it shipped to NY and she brought it back, savings of 30% makes it worth it. My daughter had her belongings shipped from Las Vegas, (big bulky things) via Greyhound to San Diego, her sister picked it up and took it to Tijuana and put it on Estrella Blanca to Puebla. Kind of the long way but at least she got them. DHL, UPS, FedEx, etc. wanted over $450 US, she's paying less than half and delivered in 3-5 days, so not bad. They also ship internationally but never tried that, but within Mexico they are an option and trackable online too, reasonable prices.(Bienvenidos Autobuses Estrella Blanca) under "servicios" then "paqueteria".


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

I hope I don't jinx my mail order luck by telling you this, but I've bought many books from BettterWorld, eBay sellers in US, Canada, UK and (once) Australia; various books from other US and Canada used book shops who sell online through Abebooks & other used book portals, and the occasional book, cd, or dvd from Amazon US and a couple of times from Amazon Canada. Also once bought a piece of clothing shipped from California. To date, no customs duties, and no lost shipments. So you might not be so lucky, but it is possible.


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## Bob Cox (Jan 2, 2009)

It may be possible to use the library at the University of the Americas in Cholula.Since there are many American students there its also a possibility of finding used english language books for sale. Maybe you could post a note on their bulletin board to find out.


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## quinta (Mar 8, 2009)

Hi Bob,

Was out your way Friday, had a lovely day in Tlaxcala!.... it was kind of spur of the moment or I would have called you to see if you wanted to have coffee. Passed by Apizaco too! The weather and day were perfect!

Anyway, I thought about the UDLA too and even send an email to several of the staff and the rector when I first came to Puebla, I found their info on the website (no one answered), and no one else could give me any info..... do you know a better way to contact them? Maybe I should just try and drive over and see one of these days....


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## AdePuebla (Jun 4, 2009)

quinta said:


> Unfortunately maesonna, your suggestions are all in Mexico City and no in Puebla. Sanborn's only has the Best Seller List but nothing of substance, there is a British Bookstore downtown but they don't even speak English so it's been hard spelling it all, lol....
> Next time you're in the US (or have someone bring) get a Kindle from Amazon, then you can download it all in a second! I'm working on translating my food and travel blog to put it on there and more and more types of media are there plus thousands of books! No more shipping fees.
> Yes, I know it's not the same as holding a book in your hands, but with the shipping problems (can you believe the UK send items better than from the US? Yes, it's true!) digital will be the way to go.....
> If anyone finds a better source, let us all know.....


That's why i didn't recognize any of the street names! I thought it was just some part of town i didn't know about. 
Guess i'll just have my mom bring me some books when she comes down.


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

And if you Pueblerinos are ever in the DF, I have another bookstore to recommend you that has a good selection of English books: _El Péndulo_. They have 5 bookstore/cafés: Polanco, Condesa, Perisur, Zona Rosa and Santa Fe.


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## BryansRose (May 25, 2009)

Thanks to whoever gave the info about BetterWorld. I ordered some books from there today. I especially like that, in addition to being faster and cheaper than Amazon for shipping, they are in effect recycling the used books. It's a great idea all around.


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## quinta (Mar 8, 2009)

I also looked at Better World, their shipping is not only reasonable but not too slow, it's a definite possibility.....


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

BetterWorld is actually not so speedy. A book just arrived that I had ordered 8 weeks ago. BUT! they are still my preferred online bookshop because of their unbeatable shipping cost. And (knock wood with fingers crossed), of many purchases I’ve made from them, not one has been lost (so far).


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

P.S. Yesterday a book arrived that I had bought on eBay from a UK seller, shipped only 7 days earlier!


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## Bob Cox (Jan 2, 2009)

Yeah, I would just drive over and check out their buletin board and library.
My phone no. is
01 241 41 80 553 Apizaco.
Bob and Raquel Cox


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## bethw (Jul 9, 2009)

I buy books for my girls in Mexico City... used book stores downtown, or a great variety of bookstores that have a good selection of new books in English. Here in Puebla, there just isn't much.


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## grieger-lods (Sep 11, 2011)

*English Novels in Puebla!*



AdePuebla said:


> Hi! I actually joined this forum to ask this same question! Glad there was already a thread about it. i'm not really looking for text books though, actually trying to find out if there are any bookstores that sell english novels? Wonder if they'd have one at the airport?



My husband and I moved to Puebla one year ago yesterday. We are retired educators from the USA who love to read, so we brought our eclectic collection of several thousand books--many of them novels. We had bookshelves built here locally so that we could have a library. Let me know if you are still interested.


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