The woo and lure of books in bookstore

Fiction surrounding non-fiction, sci-fi sharing the shelf with culinary developments, self-help hardly staying in a box, romance stealing the spotlight and religion, still, competing with its own contradictions, has left readers spoilt for choice.

Be it a polished wooden book rack displaying selective genres across artistically designed shelves or an age old bookstore stocked with words, some dusty and lost in the back piles, others showcased in the front section titled ‘best-sellers’, books never seem to go out of style.

Our city is home to many such ‘dreamy’ stores – generational passion projects creating a world of possibilities and engaging with people who share the same interest, building a culture worth joining.

Narrow passages lined with books on either side welcome readers with a scent of passion and persistence. As you walk through the store, books begin to emerge from every corner. Among them, classics, buried under the weight of new world stories, bothering and breaking my heart. Such bookstores, where books are the pillars and dividers, depend on those in charge there. Only they can effortlessly pull out the book you request within seconds.

An attic full of freedom in hard covers or a section lost in translation at the far end of the room, maintaining a bookstore that stores stories from generations, stories of healing hearts and true crime, strategic planning and thrillers, narcotic drama and comedy, is onerous.

While the world of bookstore owners still remains titled with many authors, experienced or new, digitisation has slowly found its way. Be it a digital catalog or a digital form of payment, nothing has been left unaltered in today’s world.

The digital world has certainly brought ease but the style, well let’s say ‘art’, in the feel of a traditional bookstore is still the same.

As I type this on my phone, my eyes fall on the green trunk I have had since my grandmother passed away. Her prized possession has become my favourite thing and lovingly stores all my books. Books from every bookstore I have ever passed by. Books as gifts. Books as pass-me-ons. Books as healers. And, books with thoughts and emotions, scribbled notes and marked posteds.

Next time, when you wish to purchase books, try to visit a local, traditional bookseller – someone who is more interested in reading than you. Someone who understands your ‘to be read’ list and suggests some other books too. Someone who enjoys sitting in a shop surrounded by the written word.

Stand or wander, wonder and wait for there will be a moment when you will feel rejuvenated. A smile may persist and a pile will begin to gain height. There is nothing better than spoiling yourself with lovely reads.