Available only in bookshops – a magical voyage of discovery

As the curtain raises on Independent Bookshop Week, Helen Dunmore argues that, despite the convenience of shopping online, readers need to browse real shelves packed with real booksThe 10 best independent bookshops in the world – our readers recommendWe read not only with our eyes, but with our hearts. Every sense is in play. We shiver with fear, weep, laugh aloud, blaze with anger, are seduced, aroused, enchanted. We read with our senses of taste and smell, with skin and brain and intuition. We read intellectually, emotionally, erotically. We read in order to understand our lives, to become what we are not and through this to question what we are. For a few hours we enter the minds and bodies of lovers, criminals, artists. We are insiders, present as latitude is defined or Anne Boleyn murdered. We enter the minds of explorers and scientists, even though we may not be able to do the maths. Ages fly before us, and we step on to other continents. Our identity shifts. We understand other languages, even if we do not speak them. We live in 16th-century London, or Hogwarts. We run on the moors with Cathy and Heathcliff. We are watched by Big Brother, and sense our own weakness in the face of implacable totalitarianism. Related: David Nicholls: Browsing bookshops then buying online is a 'genteel form of shoplifting' Related: Weird and wonderful bookshops worldwide – in pictures Related: A life in writing: Helen Dunmore I can give you no conception of my welcome here. There... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #big brother #david nicholls #buying online #genteel form #helen dunmore

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Available only in bookshops – a magical voyage of discovery'


Travel Bookshop to close in two weeks

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 23/08/2011 - 09:15 The Travel Bookshop in west London, which was made famous by the Hugh Grant film "Notting Hill", is closing down in two weeks' time. The London shop on Blenheim Crescent was founded 32 years ago and is owned by European... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #travel bookshop #west london #made famous #notting hill


Big Green Bookshop to hold riot benefit

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 11/08/2011 - 08:57 The Big Green Bookshop is to hold a comedy gig to raise money for the victims made homeless by the "appalling behaviour" of rioters in Tottenham last weekend. London’s Wood Green where the bookshop is based was also hit by... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #raise money #saturday night


Bookshops avoid major damage in London rioting

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 09/08/2011 - 09:30 Bookshops appeared to have been largely unaffected by the rioting that swept across London and other cities last night, causing tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage. As London shopowners began the clean-up this morning,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #london rioting #store portfolio


London Magazine asks for bookshop votes

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Tue, 05/07/2011 - 09:25 The London Magazine has launched a competition for readers to nominate their favourite bookshop, highlighting indies including Daunts. As part of the publication's The Great Little Shop Awards, this month the magazine is asking... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #london magazine #vote online


Lecturers posting notes online "harming" bookshops

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 04/07/2011 - 08:31 University lecturers posting course notes online are "harming" academic booksellers, and the posts can also deter students from reading around the subject, the chairman of the Booksellers Association's Academic, Professional... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #academic booksellers #booksellers association #iain finlayson #serves students


Physical bookshops frustrated with Pottermore

Written By: Graeme Neill and Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 23/06/2011 - 16:34 Retailers have criticised J K Rowling's decision to sell the Harry Potter ebooks directly through the Pottermore website, with Waterstone's saying physical bookshops are "effectively banned" from selling... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pottermore website #graeme neill #physical bookshops #effectively banned #digital editions


Sandwich Bookshop to close

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 15/06/2011 - 14:25 The Sandwich Bookshop in Kent is closing after seven years, blaming a rise in internet bookselling, supermarket discounting and the popularity of e-readers. Owner Louise Vance will be shutting the doors to her shop in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #internet bookselling


Bookshop owners "earn £22,000 per year"

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 25/05/2011 - 14:13 Independent bookshop owners paid themselves an average wage of £22,200 in 2010, according to a new survey. Figures revealed that the average sales of those bookshops which took part in last year’s Bookseller Fitness Programme... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #average sales #book sales


High street bookshops need greater support - Streeter

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 16/05/2011 - 09:56 The economics for booksellers "simply don't work" as they struggle with high costs and low margins, the president of the Booksellers Association has claimed. Jane Streeter was delivering the introduction at the BA Conference at... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #booksellers association #simply don #high costs #ba conference #kings place #morning 16th


British Bookshops' creditors to receive less than 10% of money owed

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 09/05/2011 - 15:41 The administrators of British Bookshops and Stationers has said it can only pay back eight-10p in every pound owed and expects the level of claims to increase. A recent document published on Companies House said the former... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #unsecured creditors #british bookshops #money owed #companies house


Torbay Bookshop up for sale

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 04/05/2011 - 15:48 The owners of the Torbay Bookshop, the Paignton based independent bookseller, have put the shop up for sale after almost 20 years trading. Co-owner Matthew Clarke said it was the right time to sell the business, with he and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #torbay bookshop


'Heavy book buyers avoiding bookshops' says HC chief

Written By: Benedicte Page, Philip Jones and Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 13/04/2011 - 09:28 Bricks and mortar bookshops in the United States face a grim future, with the heaviest book buyers choosing to buy digitally, delegates at London Book Fair were told. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #benedicte page #philip jones #mortar bookshops


More bookshops close; another 500 jobs lost

Administrators have announced the closure of 16 more Borders bookshops, leading to a loss of more than 500 jobs. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #borders bookshops


Big Green Bookshop reaches 96% of its financial target

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 05/04/2011 - 08:28 The Big Green Bookshop is celebrating after achieving 96% of its path to financial safety. The indie retailer based in Wood Green, north London, sent out a mass appeal to its customers a month ago asking them to buy one extra... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #wood green #north london #mass appeal #month ago #extra book


More bookshops to close

Administrators have decided to close 12 more Angus & Robertson stores, cutting another 102 permanent and casual positions. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WH Smith reopens shops under British Bookshops deal

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 28/03/2011 - 08:54 Seventeen former British Bookshop & Stationers stores have held their first weekend of trade under WH Smith ownership. Nine venues opened their doors as WH Smith stores and eight re-opened under their original name of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #15% discount #half price


BBC boosts bookshop sales by "almost £500,000"

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 23/03/2011 - 15:49 The BBC's "Faulks on Fiction" and "My Life in Books" series have boosted book sales by almost £500,000, Nielsen BookScan data indicates. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Big Green Bookshop half-way to fundraising target

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 07/03/2011 - 15:05 The Big Green Bookshop has raised nearly half of its fundraising target to secure its future at the beginning of its appeal week. Owners of the London independent bookshop, Simon Key and Tim West, appealed to 1,000 loyalty... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fundraising target #simon key #tim west #extra book