A New Bookshop

A new bookshop has just opened in our local shopping centre. Is that a big deal?  It is really. As books go the way of CDs and DVDs, downloadable from your armchair, it's refreshing to see an actual shop, and a big one at that, open in this day and age. The shop in question is Page One, which started 30 years ago in Singapore and has branches in Hong Kong, Taipei, Hangzhou, and now three in Beijing. It's beautifully designed and most of the books are in English, but to be honest, it's a bit disappointing. Partly it's the stock: masses of coffee table books on architecture, fashion and interior design, and acres of books on food & drink. And then there's the 'giftware': funky stationery, executive toys, brand bags, designer teapots, Audrey Hepburn plates... It was almost as if they didn't have enough books and had to fill the spaces with something.  

I much prefer the more independent Bookworm which is 200 yards down the road. It's part retail/part library, part cafe, and part great events space. It even has a piano which anyone can play anytime. But above all, it has that lived-in, slightly musty, bookish atmosphere which makes you feel instantly at home.