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On Independent Bookshops
I’m going to start this one off by acknowledging that I’m a total hypocrite. I buy things off of Amazon all of the time. I go to lots of high street chain shops. I’m very guilty of not supporting independent businesses in many facets of my life.
However…
I don’t get the point of buying books from Amazon or chain bookshops. Most towns and cities in the UK and Ireland tend to have at least one independent bookshop and they tend to be real hubs of the community, owned by people who are truly passionate about books. I can only think of one exception, in my hometown, where a woman who seemed to hate people owned a bookshop, but thankfully that’s closed down now.
Since moving to Liverpool, I have made a concerted effort to support local bookshops, and have settled on my favourite, The West Kirby Bookshop. It’s owned and run by Dan and Jordan, who care so deeply about publishing, books and putting them in the hands of people who love them. I used them to get recommendations for Christmas presents last year, which everyone loved, I love going in for a browse and a chat and they’ve been an amazing support to the book club I go to.
Recently, I also visited Backstory in Balham, which, like WKB, is staffed with passionate, dedicated and friendly people, who were delighted to order in a book for me. It’s always a nice thing when visiting somewhere to pop into the local bookshop, pick something up, and if you’re going to be there for a few days, order in something you’ve been meaning to get. This bank holiday, I’ll be heading over to WKB and I hope if you’re reading this, you make time to visit your local independent bookshop.