Seaside holidays in Norfolk were a common occurrence in my childhood and I have many fond memories of thick strawberry ice-cream and salty air. But my fondest memory of all is of a quirky little bookshop, full of fraying pages and splintering spines, where I found stories I still cherish to this day. However a few years ago I returned, only to find it branded with a ‘Waterstones’’ logo and added to the long conveyer belt of chain bookstores that have wiped independent ones of the map! There is something so heartless about chain bookstores, they have no mystery to them nor hold any delight. Everything is colour coded, categorized and classed, depressingly unlike the shamble of an independent bookstore, which will never fail to surprize. Chains take the fun away from browsing; they forbid the joy of discovering a brilliant book you never knew existed.
Admittedly, I do shop at ‘Waterstones’ quite regularly, but I’m always looking out for little independent stores that I can lose myself in. Sadly I haven’t been able to do that in what feels like years. And don’t even get me started on Kindles! Sure, they are extremely practical but the experience just isn’t the same. You can’t smell the yellowing pages or study the cover or search for signatures left by previous owners. It becomes less personal, a screen separating you from the words. Clinical and cold. Currently there is only one independent bookshop in the borough, ‘The Lion and Unicorn Bookshop’ (King’s Street, Richmond) which is home to a range of wonderful children’s books. But as for older readers, we have to make do with the chain stores and ordering online, neither of which come close to a higgledy-piggledy fairy tale bookshop. However, our borough does have an abundance of brimming libraries which serve as a replacement for independent stores. Teddington, Hampton Hill, Twickenham and Richmond all hold a selection of snug libraries that are open most days of the week for you to browse through. Recently Hampton Hill Library, my local one, moved from a quiet side road to the High street, and was refurbished and stocked full of brand new books. This gave me hope that people do still care about the importance of reading and ensuring that everyone has access to books, young and old. Let’s just hope our libraries can survive; unlike our independent bookstores.
The problem I find too often with libraries though is that you either run out of books to read or you can’t find the one you’re desperate for. But don’t worry! Even if you’ve exhausted your local library there are still plenty of places to try, ‘Fara Books’ in Teddington and ‘Oxfam Books’ in Kingston are both full of quirky novels and possess a much cosier atmosphere than the chain stores. Although the price can be a bit more than your average bookshop, those extra pennies you spend go to charity, so you can't complain!
Chain stores, kindles and online shopping are all very convenient, but I’m worried we are losing something precious and not enough people seem to care. Our independent bookstores are disappearing and soon all we will be left with are these polished, plastic stores; no yellowing or musky pages in sight. Currently there are 1,000 independent bookshops left in the UK, which you may think is a reasonable amount. Allow me to put it into perspective, 73 free-lance bookstores closed down last year and, if that rate continues, we’ll be down to only 500 by 2020! And will those 500 even stand a chance against the ever-growing army of chain stores that threaten them? Surely the stores should reflect the wonderful product they are selling? We’re losing the very thing that makes us fall in love with books. Their beauty and unfailing ability to surprize.
Maeve Watson
Waldegrave School
