I think most of us like our bookshops to have a bit of 'character', particularly if they're independent ones. However, yesterday I visited a shop that had crossed the line between eccentric charm and total chaos. There were no discernible sections and it was impossible to look at any of the books without causing an avalanche. Also, the stock was pretty awful.
It felt as if the owner had given up and was now simply going through the motions of opening and closing the shop. Needless to say, there were no customers.
I almost felt like offering my services (free of charge) for a day or two, but I don't think the owner would have taken kindly to having a stranger criticise his shop, followed by a patronising offer of help. It's a pity, because the shop has a lot of potential and enjoys a monopoly in its town.
Wherewas this shop? Broadstairs... Eastbourne? Hastings? if so, I know the ones...
ReplyDeleteYou're in the right area, but it's not any of these.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it would be right to say (but on the other hand, it's a bit late to become all ethical after posting a photo of it).
It's somewhere between Brighton and Eastbourne.
What I like in a bookshop is for everything to be in the right section, in order. Beyond that, the owner's own clutter, cat, pipe, carpet slippers, tea mugs, ashtrays, etc are all fine with me...
ReplyDeleteAs a former volunteer in Oxfam's original secondhand bookshop, I share your pain Steerforth.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm yes well... apart from the awfulness of the stock that looks exactly like my front room! Luckily we have two and the deeply Virgoan Mr Fishwife has the other (tidy) one. My bookshop, on the other hand, is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Clean, tidy, well-stocked... The owner of your featured emporium wasn't Bernard black, was it? Tell that feckless sod he still owes me 20 Marlboro Lights and a bottle of petrol station Chardonnay.
ReplyDeleteThe ashtray I can cope with but I can just see Trinny (or is it Tranny) gurning on the left of the photo. No wonder no customers.
ReplyDeleteWell spotted Kate! I'd cropped the picture and didn't think anyone would spot Tranny.
ReplyDeleteAs for the other comments, if you're going to have a bookshop like this then yes, you have to do it with attitude. Unfortunately the proprietor was no Bernard Black.
I couldn't help comparing this shop unfavourably to Camilla's in Eastbourne, which is superficially chaotic with teetering piles, but still manages to organise everything into the relevant sections in alphabetical order. Ms Baroque, you'd love it.
My god, was Bernard Black, from "Black Books" the proprietor??
ReplyDeleteGood Lord! I mean, who (cough) could let their sales desk become so untidy.
ReplyDelete(If you ever hit Crystal Palace could you give me 48 hours notice please? I would be only fair.)
Yeah, it's pretty messy. I wonder if they are just following some Feng Shui tip from a book.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember the story about 'Feng Shui Magazine'?
ReplyDeleteSomeone sneaked into their head office and discovered that they operated from a small, windowless room that was full of cheap furniture and piles of rubbish.