Bookshops are back (fingers crossed) April 14, 2007
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden , trackbackOver the last few years, the story has been of independents closing and, more recently, that even the large chains are under threat with Ottakers being taken over by Waterstones, and Waterstones then deciding to close 30 stores. The woes of Bloomsbury gay bookstore Gays the Word, or the long-ago demise Compendium and others suggest that all is not well.
But there is some good news in the gloom, with heartening piece in this morning’s Guardian, talking about the return of the independent bookseller and the changing landscape of the bookselling world.
Skoob is back, in a huge new store under the Brunswick Centre. The area’s shops and pubs have headed seriously upmarket, but that may mean that there is more money around in a place that’s always been keen on interesting bookstores. Chatting to the bookseller there the other day was a lesson in economics. The rents in the Brunswick Centre, even for the basement, are such that the space one book uses for a year costs £1.50, and the average time a book stays on the shelf is about 3 years. Before salaries or power bills are paid, that book has cost £4.50. It is extremely difficult to compete with the pile ‘em high and sell ‘em quick philosophy of Waterstones under those circumstances.
But perhaps rather than disaster we are seeing change. The strongest bookshops around here seem to be the independents – Foyles, the London Review of Books Bookshop, and numerous others. They all have characteristics that differentiate them from the mass of Waterstones and Borders. Staff are dedicated and know a lot about books, their wellchosen stocks appeal to book lovers and they haven’t fallen into the trap of discounting to beat the big boys at an unwinnable game. Foyles has its incredible number of titles, the London Review of Books its draw in from the magazine and displays of the unusual.
Buying books is a form of entertainment, and the best shops recognise that. Huge tables of 3 for 2 offers aren’t much fun when they’re full of books you’ve already read or seen dozens of times before. Far better is someone who knows what you mean when you ask for something obscure without being exactly sure of title and author, and to spend a happy hour or two, then walk out with a bag of books you’d never expected to buy.
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