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Christmas Special. What your ideal bookshop be like?

Dear all:

Tomorrow is New Year, 2014 and I’ve decided to revisit a post where I asked about what your ideal bookshop would be like. It’s time to revisit what your year has been like. In my case it hasn’t been great but I’ve decided to revisit my life and I’m thinking of trying something new. I’m looking at bookshops, that have always been one of the loves of my life, but I admit not knowing anything about the business. At the moment it’s all thoughts, but it’s a good topic, so…any comments will be welcome and Have a great New Year’s Eve. And let’s hope 2014 is positive for everybody!

 Bookshop

 

My parents always tell me that when I was a small child, before I learned to read, I always wanted to know what any signs or anything with writing on it said. Later on, once I learned to read, I became an avid reader. My school was a pretty small neighbourhood school (it no longer exists) and it did not have a library, but the readers amongst us used to exchange books and read anything we could get our hands on, from ‘The Famous Five’ and the Adventure Series (I always preferred them to the Famous Five, but that’s me) to ‘Jaws’, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, Gustavo Adolfo Becquer o Mercé Rodoreda.

 

I’ve always been happier with books than with any other presents (or nearly) and I still am.

 

When it comes to books I’m like a moth to light, if I see books anywhere I’ll go and have a look, it doesn’t matter if it’s a supermarket, a charity shop, a car-boot sale. And of course, I love bookshops although they’re having a bit of a hard time and have changed beyond recognition. And yes, now we have big bookstore chains, somewhat anonymous but usually reasonably supplied and full of other things, the small specialised bookshop, the independent bookstore, second-hand bookshops that are true time-travelling machines.

 

Because of my job there have been periods of my life where I’ve travelled a fair bit and one of the things I remember more clearly of the places where I’ve stayed (or visited)  is where the bookshops are (or where). I must admit to feeling really disappointed when I revisit a place where I’ve been before and a bookshop I liked has disappeared. It’s like losing an old friend. When it comes to bookshops, like most important things in life, they are not all created equal

 

Reflecting on all that, I wanted to ask you, readers, if you could have the bookshop of your dreams, what would it be like? Would it be enormous with everything on it? Or small but quirky with lots of character? Would it only sell books or sell related items (DVDs, e-readers, magazines and writing materials, audiobooks, other equipment…)? Would it sell other kinds of stuff (postcards, craft items, toys…)? Would it have a tea/coffee shop attached? Would it organise events (book readings and signings, host book clubs, run competitions, have other guests…)? Would it have only new books, second-hand books, have a section for exchanging books…? Books in several languages? Best-sellers and less well-known books, local interest books? Would it offer other services like Wi-Fi and e-store? Would it be located in a remote place, around the corner, in a shopping mall, in a hidden nook in a magical place?

 

Dream on! It’s free (for the time being!)

 

And thinking about this and after a fellow author and good friend sent me some pictures of one of her favourite bookshops, I decided to start a board on Pinterest dedicated to bookshops, and once I started checking I was amazed at the fabulous building and beautiful pictures people had pinned. Have a look, and if you’d like to pin your own pictures or others you find, let me know and I’ll invite you to pin with pleasure.

 

http://www.pinterest.com/olganm7/bookstores-booshops-and-interesting-shops/

 

Thanks for reading, and if you’ve enjoyed it remember to like, comment, and share!

 

 

books (Photo credit: brody4)

 

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By olganm

I am a language teacher, writer, bookworm, and collaborator at Sants 3 Ràdio (a local radio station in Barcelona, where I returned in 2018), who lived in the UK for 25 years and worked for many years as a forensic psychiatrist there. I also have a Ph.D. in American Literature and an MSc in Criminology. I started publishing my stories, in English and Spanish, in 2012 and now have over twenty books available in a variety of genres, a blog (in English and Spanish), and translate books for other authors (English-Spanish and vice versa). In 2020 obtained the CELTA certificate as a language teacher, and offer Spanish and English classes. Writers and readers both in English and Spanish are my friends, colleagues, and allies, and after living in the UK for over twenty-five years, have returned home, to Barcelona, Spain, searching for inspiration for my stories. I also love owls and try to keep fit following fitness YouTube videos.
Do feel free to connect with me. Here are:
My website/blog:
http://OlgaNM.wordpress.com

2 replies on “Christmas Special. What your ideal bookshop be like?”

In describing yourself, you have described me! I’ve always said that I can’t pass a bookshop without going in and if I go in, I buy. I think my perfect bookshop would be small and quirky and surprising but which can order any book under the sun. There would also have to be sofas and armchairs and refreshments.

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Yes, I think your perfect bookshop would be very similar to my ideal one, although I must say some of the huge, cathedral-like ones, in beautiful and grand buildings also appeal to me. Maybe there should be a magical bookshop that could become what we have in mind…I can feel a story coming. Happy New Year and thanks for commenting and also for your great posts!

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