Demise of our local bookshop
I love bookshops.
They are my favourite type of shop. I probably spend more time in bookshops than any other type though I should add that I rarely do our grocery shopping. So it was with great sadness yesterday that I visited our local bookshop knowing that it was closing down ths week. As part of a large chain which has been in trouble across the country recently, it was another victim of poor management at the top. The local shop was excellently run but the staff have suffered at the hands of those who should know better.
I guess that this is not an uncommon occurance in the bookshop world these days. Poor management aided by the growth of online shops has seen many shops close. Yes – I’m guilty of buying online too, but usually only books with which I am familiar. Nothing online can replace actually handling the physical object before deciding to buy. Sadly I guess I will have to gradually forego this simple pleasure as more and more bookshops close in the coming years.
What did I buy, I hear you ask? At 50% off I couldn’t resist Geraldine Brooks’ novel People of the book. Strangely, sadly ironic that that was the book I most wanted to buy (read a review here). Are our bookshops in danger of disappearing?
sad news indeed Trevor; I also value the book as a physical object
One day I had my Kindle DX on the table next to Enigma by Graeme Base. I realised that both are beautiful objects and do not replace each other. Another example is God’s Poetry by Anne Hamilton, which would not work as a ebook.
If I just want the plain text of a book to read, like Marrying Ameera by Rosanne Hawke, a Kindle version is quite handy. I have realised that the last dozen or so books I bought are large, very pictorial and very special. The Muddleheaded Wombat, The Magic Pudding, Wind in the Willows. Pinocchio. My pbooks are not much more special than before. I think that’s a win-win situation.