Celebrating Bookshops: Do you have a favourite?

Have you a favourite bookshop? What, in your  opinion, makes a good bookshop? Are bookshops going to be a thing of the past, fond memories of old folks?

My local bookshop , ‘The Bookshop’, is, what  I think, a good bookshop should be. It’s in a coastal town, with a strong tourist industry, but also a higher percentage than usual of retired folk. It has a well regarded library which has a very active ‘Friends Of ‘ group. So it’s in an area where a bookshop should thrive. But not all bookshops have. Two have closed down in the last five years. This bookshop is situated in the main section of a long main street with plenty of coffee shops, gift stores and the newsagency close by.

A good bookshop must have good stock. This bookshop has the latest titles, bargain tables for adults and children, and a good range in the most popular categories. Its children’s section is a delight. I am given book vouchers each birthday and Christmas. My recent purchases here were a ‘coffee table’ book on the great coffee houses of Europe, and “My Bookstore’ edited by Edward Rice a collection of articles by American authors celebrating their favourite bookshops.

Staff must be friendly, obliging and knowledgeable. Not only must they know their stock, they need to know what was reviewed in the weekend papers and when they can get copies. Apparently the papers will review a book before its release and this is most frustrating for the bookshop owner. Ordering in copies is an important part of the business.  Chatting about purchases is so important.

‘The Bookshop’ does a good job of supporting local authors, having in plenty of copies and displaying them prominently.

Some bookshops have promotional events and while our bookshop does not do this it seems to be a popular move. Some run their own book clubs.

Coffee and bookshops have a long association. I enjoy a trip to ‘Dymock’s’ in Sydney – browsing, making a purchase, then heading up to the mezzanine café for coffee and watching others browse below.

Bookshops and books themselves are at a time of change. It is easy to order books online from a wide range. The books arrive quickly. It’s not something I do often as I actively want to support the local industry, but I have ordered two books – a book on walking around Paris in Hemingway’s footsteps and ‘Knitted Meerkats’.

Books are expensive in Australia compared to other countries.

The biggest threat comes from ebooks. It is so easy to download, the books are often very cheap in comparison to the printed version. I didn’t think I would like the feel of reading on a Kindle, but I find reading on my Kindle paperwhite easy and comfortable. I find it hard to hold big books for any length of time now so that is a help. Unfortunately I can’t lend books. Being able to read in bed at night without the light on is a big plus and taking several books on a trip is now so easy.

The Australian Government has been so concerned at the state of the book industry it has established the Book Industry Collaborative Council with seven areas and committees such as ‘Distribution’, ‘Export’ and ‘Lending Rights’.

August 10^th is ‘Celebrate National Bookshop Day’ and what better way to celebrate than by buying a book.  Tell us about your bookshop today… 

image: Conxa Rodà