On the evening of August 20, Ms. Le Thuy Trang (38 years old, Cau Giay ward) went to a bookstore on Thanh Thai street to buy textbooks for her son who is going to 6th grade this year.
This is one of many bookstores she has visited in recent days. However, this parent has not yet bought enough textbooks for her child before the new school year.
The bookstores I go to do not have enough books, so I am forced to pick up each book one by one, whatever book I get is good" - Ms. Trang said.
As of the evening of August 20, there are still 2 books she has not found to buy: Civic Education and Experiential Activities, Career Guidance for grade 6.
There are only a few days left until my child goes to school to start the new school year. Never before has the search for textbooks been as hard and difficult as this year" - Ms. Trang said.
At the same time, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Ngoc (Cau Giay ward) also came to this bookstore to find and buy textbooks for her younger brother in 5th grade this year.
I only bought 6 out of a total of 12 books. The remaining books I will have to go to other bookstores to find" - Ms. Hong Ngoc said.
According to records, the shortage of textbooks at bookstores on Thanh Thai street occurs mostly at all levels, especially at the secondary and high school levels.
For grade 6 alone, there is currently a shortage of about 5-6 book titles. On the bookshelf, there is only 1 book "Math 6 Volume 1", 1 book "History and Geography", 3 books "Physical Education"; some other books such as "Math Volume 2", "Literature Volume 2" or "English" are in larger quantities.
Some parents shared that they had registered to buy through the school before, but close to the school day, the school reported that they could not buy it and refunded the money. Parents had to find and buy it outside themselves" - a bookshop employee on Thanh Thai street shared.
This employee also said that parents come here to buy books, but when they see a shortage of books, they go to another store with the desire to buy a full set.
However, because they could not find enough books, they returned to buy individual books. This caused parents to spend a lot of time and effort.
The shortage of textbooks also occurred at a bookstore on Trung Kinh street (Yen Hoa ward).
Staff here said that the most lacking are grade 6 and grade 12 textbooks.
Explaining the reason for the current book shortage, a male employee of a bookstore on Trung Kinh street said that in recent years, the school has chosen which set of books, and parents actively buy that set.
According to this employee, the 2026 - 2027 school year is converted to one book title, so the demand surged sharply, causing the printing house to not have time to supply.
We are also powerless, not because we don't want to sell, but because we don't have books to sell," the male employee confided.
Although it was announced that there would be a new book sale on August 21, the store itself could not be sure which books would be available.
If books are still in short supply, parents have no other choice but to continue waiting or have to find books at other stores.
Faced with this situation, representatives of many large bookstores in Hanoi advise parents not to keep the mentality of waiting to buy a full set at one store.
Instead, if you see any store with any missing books, you should buy them immediately to gradually combine them into a complete set, avoiding falling into a passive position when the opening day is approaching.
