Buying books online hasn’t in the least dimmed my enthusiasm for bookshops where I still look forward to the pleasure of browsing and buying. But a real worry now is: will there be any more brick- and-mortar bookshops left standing after Flipkart, ebooks and Amazon.in are done swallowing the chains and the independents? The second-hand bookshops that opened in their wake (stocking attractively discounted new books) have been a consolation to bookshop addicts. However what I’m hearing recently from many second-hand bookshop owners is not good: online retailers, private rental libraries and digital books — that trio of usual suspects — are beginning to dent the used books business as well.
At this rate, will we, in the near future, even have physical bookshops anymore to step into for a browse or a chat? It is getting to be so that even the existence of a small independent bookshop in some corner now feels like a real luxury. And what a wretched thing that would be, not to have a (sacred?) space like that anywhere in our cities housing actual books on bookshelves, to not come upon a flurry of browsers handling books or standing there intently caressing the pages of a beautifully produced book. Also gone would be another familiar and beloved bookshop scene: conversations around books between two readers, or the prospect of an informed, friendly chat between customer and owner.
And what of our few remaining independent bookshops — by this I mean not the second-hand shops but the bookshops trading in new books. How are they faring in the face of all the competition? We need to hear from them; just because we need bookshops isn’t going to make it possible for those who own and run them to sustain the business. Jayanti Venkat, the owner of Bookstop, a four-year-old independent, feels that a passionate, informed bookseller who can carve out a nice selection and put the right book in a customer’s hand has an edge over bulk-buying strategies and algorithms used by large retailers that work only with the bestsellers. “Our USP, if you will, is our careful selection of titles arranged within a small physical space. But please don’t ask for discounts — because the next thing for an independent is to not expect major profits. Job satisfaction — the fulfilment — is higher.”
The bookshop scene abroad seems brighter as more new local bookshops spring up, surprising even the book industry. This is partly because a growing loyal force of readers, bibliophiles and writers (who support the small local bookstore) consciously patronise physical bookshops. In doing so, they have given up seeking deep discounts, are willing to wait if a book is out of stock, and travel with a physical book while others carry a digital copy. There is a cost now for retaining the pleasures of being in an actual bookshop: you pay in your own way for this luxury.
The book trade has often deprecatingly said of itself that bookselling is a very enjoyable way of making very little money; now perhaps we on the other side are about to find out how buying at bookshops could become a very enjoyable way of spending a little more money than we are used to! The convenience of buying online is too seductive now: the exact edition at the price you want it at (with the luxury of courier service and COD thrown in!) to ask readers to return to bookshops… but what’s needed is a partial return.
How about this for a start? If a book you want is available online as well as at independent bookshops, get it from the bookshop. You’ll have made a sale for the shop and spent a pleasant half hour browsing. (And who knows, you might find books that you wanted more or even books you didn’t know you wanted until you saw them, touched them). And for those books that may never be available at your favourite bookshop, order them online. Another thing could be splitting your reading between digital and printed books?
Because I feel the responsibility (and the privilege) is really on us now, this shrinking community of readers and bibliophiles who can’t do without physical bookshops, to mindfully patronise local independent bookshops — or at least divide our book buying between online booksites and physical bookshops. After all, they offer two different experiences: one is about distribution and product fulfilment, the other is about communing with a roomful of books and fellow readers. What will it be for you?
Published - July 18, 2015 04:15 pm IST
