Supporting independent bookshops

Moving from campus to Leamington this year, I was looking forward to the prospect of exploring and supporting local bookshops. However, just a quick Google search shows that very few exist! With several competitive major retailers in Leamington and the ease of being able to find almost any book you want online, it is not surprising that independent booksellers may struggle to survive. So why should we support these family-run, independent businesses?  

In small bookshops more than anywhere else, you may find something totally unexpected. Thus, the experience of browsing or buying from smaller retailers is different from anything you may have encountered before. Unless you have been there previously, you do not step into an independent bookshop knowing exactly what item you will come out with. It is this exhilarating experience of the unexpected that ensures my eternal support for idiosyncratic booksellers. Every independent bookshop I have ever been into has been distinctively welcoming. It is gratifying to think that you are supporting new authors and smaller publishers, whose names may not appear in the shops of commercially successful retailers.   

I love walking into bookshops and physically picking up a copy of one of my favourite texts

With Christmas only a few weeks away, it can be difficult to think of new gift ideas to buy for your friends and family. If you’ve been repeating the same gifts of socks, scarves and chocolate for years, fear not, as I have the perfect gift ideas for you which can only be found in independent booksellers.

It is so easy to order a book from Amazon, but sometimes it is worth taking the time and effort to buy a special gift from an independent bookshop. The ‘death’ of books and bookshops was predicted by the arrival of Kindles and other forms of electronic reading. However, in the last few years, there has been a resurgence in the appetite for printed books. From a young age, I have loved walking into bookshops and physically picking up a copy of one of my favourite texts. This is something you cannot experience online.  

Independent bookshops are the best place to find eccentric Christmas gifts. For the past 19 years, every October I have stayed in the Cotswolds with my family. Each year, I love visiting one of my favourite independent sellers, The Borzoi Bookshop in Stow-on-the-Wold. Here you can find quirky books, specifically from small publishers.

The sense of community these bookshops create is striking in comparison with major retailers

Or even if you don’t fancy buying a unique book for Christmas, there are plenty of other choices. I found an Advent calendar in this bookshop which was from Germany and cannot be easily found in England. Every time I enter this bookshop I feel instantly at home, which is helped by the owner’s two dogs, who always greet customers on arrival. For Warwick students, the best part is that this bookshop is less than an hour away – so get Christmas shopping!

The sense of community these bookshops create is striking in comparison with major retailers. While it takes time to search and locate an independent bookshop of interest, browse its range and physically choose the book you want to buy as a present, this for me supports the idiom ‘it’s the thought that counts’. This is far more important than the present itself. Whilst the variety of books in chain retailers is always advantageous when looking for a specific book, nothing can beat arriving at an eccentric bookshop open-minded as to what you may find, but with the knowledge that your purchase is helping to support them.