Kuwait - Books, magazines and music

The number of book, magazine and music shops in Kuwait has improved dramatically in the past few years. Censorship is still very strong which does continue to have an impact on what is found on the shelves. It is not uncommon to find numerous pages missing from magazines in addition to the overzealous use of large black-out pens.

Bookshops

• Al Eshraaf Co.
  Gulf Road
  Turki and Nasser Al Dabbous Building (next to McDonalds)
  Fahaheel
  Tel: + 965 391 0872
• Al Manar Bookshop
  Salem Al Mubarak Street
  Al Rabii Building
  Shop 6
  Salmiya
  Tel: + 965  574 4265
• Books for Kids Kuwait
  Contact: Patricia Mikhail
  Tel: + 965  788 2860
• Family Bookshop
  Block 9
  Salem Al Mubarak Street (opposite Boushahri)
  Salmiya
  Tel: + 965  571 4340
• Jarir Bookstore
  Block 4
  Tunis Street (next to fairground)
  Hawalli
  Tel: + 965  261 0111
• Kuwait Bookshop
  Qibla (corner of Fahd Al Salem and Al Shuhada Streets)
  Al-Muthanna Centre (opposite JW Marriott Hotel)
  Kuwait City
  Tel: + 965  242 4687

Magazines

Magazines can be found at all bookshops, at Virgin MegaStore in Marina Mall Salmiya and at all of The Sultan Centre supermarkets. However, the copies are usually received 2-4 weeks after they are published (due to shipping and censorship delays) and they often have a number of pages removed, depending on the content. Add to this the fact that the prices are exorbitant i.e. the British Homes & Gardens will cost you the equivalent of £8.5 here (£3.10 in the UK), the French Marie Claire Maison €10 (€4.5 in France) and Martha Stewart Living $9.5 ($4.75 in the US). It is far better to subscribe to the magazines in order to pay less but you are still likely to suffer delays due to the postal system and censorship.

Music Shops

• Virgin Megastore
  Marina Mall
  Salmiya
  Tel: + 965  224 4555

There are a number of small shops throughout Kuwait selling cassettes, CD’s and DVD’s. However, be aware that a large percentage of the goods are pirated copies.

Musical Instruments

Local availability of musical instruments and replacement parts is limited (if you play guitar or saxofone bring lots of strings and mouthpieces with you!).