When I started this challenge I thought bookshops were either big or small, new or secondhand, local or specialist. If I wanted a book I'd usually get it from Amazon. If I wanted to browse books, I'd go to my local bookshop, Topping & Co in Ely. I thought the job of a bookshop was just to sell books.
During my tour of bookshops something started to go horribly wrong and I began to acquire a growing collection of books. I was going into the shops, reading the book titles and flicking through the pages. I felt that my life would be slightly better, happier, clearer if I just bought a 256 page nugget of knowledge shaped like a book. An emptiness in my life would be filled if only I bought Paul Simon's Little Black Song Book, or Anarchism & Environmental Survival by Graham Purchase. Bookshops started to work their magic. I walked out of the shops with books I didn't know I needed, spending money I didn't want to spend, and feeling strangely good about it. I even found myself comparing books I didn't need, to see which of the two I wanted more. That magical engagement with the customer is what bookshops do best.
I also thought that bookshops were either online or physical. This is wrong. Many bookshops sell a lot of stock online. Bookworms in Cromer for instance relies on online sales over the winter when Cromer doesn't have many tourists. Similarly, antiquarian bookshops such as The Scarlet Pimpernel relies on online sales to sell expensive rare books. Many bookshops refuse to go online due to the effort involved.
Half way through the challenge I realised that the people running the shops were a strange brew. They are usually kind and helpful. Some are wonderful characters who I miss even though I've only spoken to them for twenty minutes. They are very willing to tell the history of the shop, and the history is often interesting. Why does a guy spend his life sitting behind a desk selling books about trains? Why does a woman spend her life living in a house with no lights, surrounded by books and seeing no customers? Sometimes these stories are tragic and distressing too. Now if I enter a bookshop I shall always want to say 'hello' to the owner.
I have been quite upset to hear of bookshops that will be closing in the next twelve months. There were the men in Printed Matter Bookshop and Bookbuster in Hastings, who may close due to changes in welfare benefits. They have been surviving on less than the minimum wage. Their books were about left-wing politics and the welfare system, and they will close down due to changes in the welfare system. Some bookshops will close due to rent-rises, such as Karnac Books, whilst shops like Arboretum Bookshop and Richard Humm will go because their owner is simply too old. I expect most bookshops in Lincoln will close soon due to an outbreak of old-age.
The most recommended bookshop was Skoob Books in London. I don't think it was the best, but it was very well known. It also sells online. I preferred Peters Bookshop in Sheringham. It had everything I wanted, yet wasn't overwhelmingly big like Camilla's Bookshop. I have started to prefer secondhand bookshops to new bookshops. Secondhand booksellers sell on AbeBooks rather than Amazon.
The successful bookshops these days are part of a community. Gays The Word pointed out that whilst you can buy gay books in most bookshops these days, Gays The Word provides a community for people to meet in and take part in events. Shops like The Old Bookshop in Downham Market provide health services to people as well as selling books, and Bookbugs & Dragon tales in Norwich provide activities for children. Running community activities in the shop creates supportive social networks, and the bookshop develops loyal customers. I have witnessed this on my visits. This is something that online bookshops will never be able to do.
During my tour of bookshops something started to go horribly wrong and I began to acquire a growing collection of books. I was going into the shops, reading the book titles and flicking through the pages. I felt that my life would be slightly better, happier, clearer if I just bought a 256 page nugget of knowledge shaped like a book. An emptiness in my life would be filled if only I bought Paul Simon's Little Black Song Book, or Anarchism & Environmental Survival by Graham Purchase. Bookshops started to work their magic. I walked out of the shops with books I didn't know I needed, spending money I didn't want to spend, and feeling strangely good about it. I even found myself comparing books I didn't need, to see which of the two I wanted more. That magical engagement with the customer is what bookshops do best.
I also thought that bookshops were either online or physical. This is wrong. Many bookshops sell a lot of stock online. Bookworms in Cromer for instance relies on online sales over the winter when Cromer doesn't have many tourists. Similarly, antiquarian bookshops such as The Scarlet Pimpernel relies on online sales to sell expensive rare books. Many bookshops refuse to go online due to the effort involved.
Half way through the challenge I realised that the people running the shops were a strange brew. They are usually kind and helpful. Some are wonderful characters who I miss even though I've only spoken to them for twenty minutes. They are very willing to tell the history of the shop, and the history is often interesting. Why does a guy spend his life sitting behind a desk selling books about trains? Why does a woman spend her life living in a house with no lights, surrounded by books and seeing no customers? Sometimes these stories are tragic and distressing too. Now if I enter a bookshop I shall always want to say 'hello' to the owner.
I have been quite upset to hear of bookshops that will be closing in the next twelve months. There were the men in Printed Matter Bookshop and Bookbuster in Hastings, who may close due to changes in welfare benefits. They have been surviving on less than the minimum wage. Their books were about left-wing politics and the welfare system, and they will close down due to changes in the welfare system. Some bookshops will close due to rent-rises, such as Karnac Books, whilst shops like Arboretum Bookshop and Richard Humm will go because their owner is simply too old. I expect most bookshops in Lincoln will close soon due to an outbreak of old-age.
The most recommended bookshop was Skoob Books in London. I don't think it was the best, but it was very well known. It also sells online. I preferred Peters Bookshop in Sheringham. It had everything I wanted, yet wasn't overwhelmingly big like Camilla's Bookshop. I have started to prefer secondhand bookshops to new bookshops. Secondhand booksellers sell on AbeBooks rather than Amazon.
The successful bookshops these days are part of a community. Gays The Word pointed out that whilst you can buy gay books in most bookshops these days, Gays The Word provides a community for people to meet in and take part in events. Shops like The Old Bookshop in Downham Market provide health services to people as well as selling books, and Bookbugs & Dragon tales in Norwich provide activities for children. Running community activities in the shop creates supportive social networks, and the bookshop develops loyal customers. I have witnessed this on my visits. This is something that online bookshops will never be able to do.
Footnote - how to measure a bookshop
During this challenge I've given bookshop sizes in units of Narrowboat. This has proven very useful. One narrowboat is barely big enough. 2-4 is OK if space is used well. Anything above 10 is too big. How did I calculate the sizes? Here is my formula:
20 paces is roughly a narrowboat's length of about 60 feet.
2 paces is roughly a narrowboat's width.
Pace the length and width of a shop. Narrowboat dimensions = length * width / 40.
For a circular bookshop, pace the perimeter. Narrowboat dimensions = perimeter * perimeter / 502.4
I agree - physical bookshops are far more than just a place to buy books. GOSH and Forbidden Planet (back in it's Denmark Street days) were places I could go in my late teens where I didn't feel odd, unusual or different. They provided me with a community. I'd love to open a bookshop - but know that to do so somewhere with sufficient passing trade to make it viable, would mean the rent would be too much to make it a going concern. Which is sad. Plus I'm not sure I'd be able to sell books I liked, to people I didn't. What was the age ranges of your fellow customers? I think of physical bookshops as appealing to older readers, it would be nice to be proved wrong
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