Friday, August 10, 2007

Hyderabad needs a better bookstore

On an off day, for a lot of us, there's nothing better than being in the middle of books, books and books. There are a couple of places one could go to - Odyssey, Crossword and Walden but some how they haven't been convincing enough as 'quality' book stores. Do I expect them to be like Barnes & Noble or Borders? Absolutely not. However, I think little things make a big difference.

First of all, are the employees just employees or are they book lovers too? All of them could do with book loving helpers.

I have noticed that commercial compulsions are making these book stores assign less and less space to books and more to gift items, stationary etc., Have the owners lost their love for the books as well?

Has any of you been to Akshara, the little book shop that used to be housed below Q-Mart for a long time but unfortunately has had to vacate due to the demolition of the basement. It's now shifted to Srinagar Colony. If you want to see a book store owner who is a real book lover, do visit Akshara.

I would love to see a book store that has rooms set aside for book reading and not just for children. Knowing how important it is for us to keep the book reading habit in our children alive, we should make it happen by making reading entertaining. Make it like a fun event - and the book stores are in a perfect position to do that.

And can there be section (completely away from gifts, stationary, music etc.,) which is just books, books and more books? And some reading spots too?

6 Comments:

Anonymous Asha Tampa said...

Hi, Dhruv! Yeah, I agree with you here in the sense that book stores have actually lost their real meaning. Do you go shopping in second hand stalls, though? They are what I love the best. I've been in Hyderabad for 3 yrs now, and I've been to Walden, Crossword, and Odyssey jus 3 to 4 times.

Musty, second hand stalls are like treasure troves to me; I once found a PG Wodehouse first edition(with a signature dated 1912 :D) for jus 40 bucks. Its my favorite possession.

Maybe you could try them sometime. I also buy lots and lots of children's books for my cousins, books which are not usually found in the 3 biggest stores in the city.

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