A bookshop in the old days seemed a kind of antechamber to Fairyland. Not so today, when books are done up like gaudy confectionery and treated like merchandiseTo stand in a certain kind of modern bookshop is to feel like Walpoles learned blockhead, whose only merit was that he had read more foolish books than other folks; or to emulate Lambs friend who left off reading altogether, to the great improvement of his originality.Yet it is not really very long since a shop devoted to the selling of books still retained an air of dignity, and still conveyed the impression of containing books, real books that one wanted to buy and keep. A bookshop in those days seemed a kind of antechamber to Fairyland. No one could conceivably feel like that about the average bookshop of to-day. It is crowded with books, of course - far more crowded than any bookshop ever used to be. But the impression it conveys is not of books but of merchandise, even of confectionery, done up like sweetmeats in pretty coloured paper. It is an emporium, a store, a bazaar, anything you like to call it. But it is no longer the bookshop of our fancy; and the dreamer who still thinks to step from its threshold on to enchanted ground is qualifying for a rude awakening. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 25/02/2011 - 08:38 The Big Green Bookshop is appealing to 1,000 of its loyal customers to help secure its future by buying one book each. Owners Simon Key and Tim West of the indie in Wood Green, North London, have also set up an online donation... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 15/02/2011 - 17:04 All remaining 28 British Bookshops and Stationers stores will shut up shop within a month, unless a last-minute deal can be made with any interested parties. The programme of closure will begin over the next week, with around... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 08/02/2011 - 09:10 W H Smith has acquired 22 stores previously run by British Bookshops and Stationers in a £1m deal. The bookshops will continue to trade under BB&S until a "phased takeover" begins later this month in stores in Teddington... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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