What?! Nooooooo!
Today I found out that my absolute favourite bookstore is CLOSING. They're having an administrator's sale and selling everything in the store, even the furniture.
This year, Borders bit the dust and even the Australian institution that feels almost older than time Angus & Robertson went down too. But I felt nothing but satisfaction at taking the opportunity to finally buy the overpriced books I wanted at Borders for a slightly better price. I was so emotionally removed that I could even look at some of the books I wanted at all of the closing chain stores and say flippantly, "Nah, I want to save more. Besides, there is my beloved Reader's Feast to enjoy." (Before my discovery I had been checking out a closing Angus & Robertson branch nearby).
When I saw the gaudy administrator's sale banners at Reader's Feast today, for the first time ever since the slow and steady breakdown of our economy I felt like I had just been punched in the gut.
It may sound strange, but despite being an independent bookstore and only around 20 years old, Reader's Feast was a much loved and seemingly successful store. It was loved by snooty and less pretentious booklovers. It always rewarded the loyal customers. It had a killer yet affordable range, with classics, currents and a shitton more of everything. It contributed to all sorts of literary events and scenes, and considering that Melbourne got the honour of being Australia's city of literature, that's saying something. Years before anyone thought about e-books, it realised the change and prepared by supplying some for people to consider, so it wouldn't be blindsided. It was light and airy, in a super convenient location, super welcoming and you just felt so much at peace. For heaven's sake, it even gets mentioned in some of our literature.
I began to really love that store in my teens, at a time when I was finally allowed to go exploring the city on my own and have solitary days out. It was a personal discovery of my own that I cherished. Every trip to the city always involved a visit to Reader's Feast. During a period of my life when I was feeling really down about my present life and couldn't see a happy future, going there to have a leisurely browse and occasionally buy a cheap classic to read gave me some level of peace and comfort.
You know, I accepted that someday e-books would be what us bibliophiles depended on for a good read. That books may eventually become super rare or be only available in secondhand stores or on the net. I could have lived with that. I also read articles about how bookstores may eventually close out except for a special select few in capital cities and we would end up buying our books on the net, either through ordering books to be delivered or downloading them. I could live with that too.
But I was not ready for this. Not Reader's Feast. Any soulless chain but this one. Not the store that had people inside and out really caring about it beyond sales figures. It was just such a surprise. Even with Borders there were hints. Here, KABOOM with the gaudy banners.
I'm going to make an exception and break my initially super strict savings plan for a week or two this month, since there are a number of books I really wanted but was planning to buy around my birthday in December. I may as well since I was the kind of girl who preferred books to anything else. (Seriously, I have a super repetitive wardrobe to prove it). Lets face it, I could still go to the other few remaining bookstores or go to the book market at FedSquare but with this one gone, the desire would be severely muted for a while and this one was loved by me for its location.
Sigh, this is a sale that I wished never had to happen.
This year, Borders bit the dust and even the Australian institution that feels almost older than time Angus & Robertson went down too. But I felt nothing but satisfaction at taking the opportunity to finally buy the overpriced books I wanted at Borders for a slightly better price. I was so emotionally removed that I could even look at some of the books I wanted at all of the closing chain stores and say flippantly, "Nah, I want to save more. Besides, there is my beloved Reader's Feast to enjoy." (Before my discovery I had been checking out a closing Angus & Robertson branch nearby).
When I saw the gaudy administrator's sale banners at Reader's Feast today, for the first time ever since the slow and steady breakdown of our economy I felt like I had just been punched in the gut.
It may sound strange, but despite being an independent bookstore and only around 20 years old, Reader's Feast was a much loved and seemingly successful store. It was loved by snooty and less pretentious booklovers. It always rewarded the loyal customers. It had a killer yet affordable range, with classics, currents and a shitton more of everything. It contributed to all sorts of literary events and scenes, and considering that Melbourne got the honour of being Australia's city of literature, that's saying something. Years before anyone thought about e-books, it realised the change and prepared by supplying some for people to consider, so it wouldn't be blindsided. It was light and airy, in a super convenient location, super welcoming and you just felt so much at peace. For heaven's sake, it even gets mentioned in some of our literature.
I began to really love that store in my teens, at a time when I was finally allowed to go exploring the city on my own and have solitary days out. It was a personal discovery of my own that I cherished. Every trip to the city always involved a visit to Reader's Feast. During a period of my life when I was feeling really down about my present life and couldn't see a happy future, going there to have a leisurely browse and occasionally buy a cheap classic to read gave me some level of peace and comfort.
You know, I accepted that someday e-books would be what us bibliophiles depended on for a good read. That books may eventually become super rare or be only available in secondhand stores or on the net. I could have lived with that. I also read articles about how bookstores may eventually close out except for a special select few in capital cities and we would end up buying our books on the net, either through ordering books to be delivered or downloading them. I could live with that too.
But I was not ready for this. Not Reader's Feast. Any soulless chain but this one. Not the store that had people inside and out really caring about it beyond sales figures. It was just such a surprise. Even with Borders there were hints. Here, KABOOM with the gaudy banners.
I'm going to make an exception and break my initially super strict savings plan for a week or two this month, since there are a number of books I really wanted but was planning to buy around my birthday in December. I may as well since I was the kind of girl who preferred books to anything else. (Seriously, I have a super repetitive wardrobe to prove it). Lets face it, I could still go to the other few remaining bookstores or go to the book market at FedSquare but with this one gone, the desire would be severely muted for a while and this one was loved by me for its location.
Sigh, this is a sale that I wished never had to happen.