Dec 17 2008
Death of the local book shop
A few months ago I decided to take a trip to the local book shop in Wigan town centre, only to discover it had closed down. It was the last of such stores in existence within ten miles of my house, as the volunteer bookshop had shut a year earlier and the one in my own town over five years previous.
Now, when I want a book, I have to put up with Waterstones and WH Smiths, places of corporate worship and commercialised yakpoo. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great when you know exactly which book you want and it has recently been released, but try and get a book over four years old and you’re screwed.
Oh, where’s the dust?
I really miss the old bookshop. Tucked away in a backstreet behind the library, it really was a magical place - room upon small, dingy room of bookshelves, a dungeon of delight, all run by one bloke with a passion for books.
Deep in the depths of the store was a larger room in which you literally could not move as every windowshelf, every inch of carpet space was filled with unsorted books, just dumped there for people to browse.
You could spend an hour just exploring one pile and uncover hidden gems you really didn’t have the faintest idea existed. Books on everything, and the guy behind the counter knew every little corner of his store, where everything was kept, where even the most obscure book was located at any given point.
Selling out
No such homeliness at Waterstones. Sure, it’s got central heating, coffee stands and all that, and it’s good at what it does. But none of that is required in a bookshop. It needs to be a place you can explore, a place with character you can warm to and grow to love. Well, not literally, of course, as it was pretty cold in that old shop.
It really is sad that this British institution is dying out to the corporate machine.
Old bookstores kind of smell like glue and diarrhea to me, but I’m with you. It’s sad that tiny businesses (that are actually cheaper and better) are losing out to the corporate whores, but you can also blame the consumers for being traitors to their local small businesses.
I know just what you mean. Here in Carlisle, we have a Waterstones which is ok but there is also a huge second hand bookshop with three floors. I love it!