People who are used to finding discounted books at Taipei's Shida area may feel slightly disappointed by the following news.

Facing stiff competition from online shops, Cheng Da Bookstore will be closing its Shida and Taida locations to focus on Internet sales. Instead, the owner says he may consider opening new stores in Taitung and Hualien.

All of the books at Cheng Da Bookstore are 25% off. Cheng Da Bookstore originated in the National Cheng Chi University area and later expanded to the National Taiwan Normal University and National Taiwan University areas.

The chain was renowned for its low prices, comfortable interiors, and excellent service.

Store personnel are often able to locate books more quickly than computers, but the owner of the stores recently decided to close the Taida and Shida locations to focus on online sales.

According to Shida store employee Ms. Lin, she started working there because of her passion for reading, but the number of customers has been on the decline for several years.

Workers at another bookstore in the area agree with Lin's assessment that people are reading less nowadays.

The owner says that the Taipei book market is saturated, and he is therefore considering opening new locations in Taitung and Hualien.