Booksellers Live in a Special Place, a Unique Address, an Exceptional Scene
How community-makers have the power to change someone’s approach to life.
The knowing way in which a seasoned bookseller disappears between the shelves on the hunt for the perfect fit for a reader (often delivering obscure but wondrous surprises) is unmatched.- Chiara Rimella in Monocle, issue 140.
When I was in my early 20s, some bookseller suggested a simple book called “Seasons of Life.” I wanted something from a specific author, and the bookseller, smiling at me, said: I know what you’re searching for. I’ll suggest this book, but you must be prepared for it. The content you’re about to read is so simple; I don’t know if you’re ready for it.
At first, I thought he was just trying to be funny until I went home and started to read what Jim Rohn had to say to me. The bookseller was proper. I wasn’t prepared for such straightforward content.
I was expecting to read a sophisticated text on personal growth, but after all, what I learned was that life was much more straightforward than I imagined. With simple analogies to the four seasons of the year, we can see life precisely as it is. We all have our winters, but not everything is terrible, especially when spring comes, where we can get up to catch the summer and get more vital for the challenges ahead.
From time to time, I need to go back to read “Seasons of life” the simplify what I think is complicated. Thank you very much, Mr. Jim Rohn.
How did the bookseller know what I was searching for? I can’t explain. I keep thinking they have special powers.
A library is proof that you can never have too much of a good thing.
One of the most beautiful libraries I’ve ever been to is in Oporto, Portugal, two hours from my home town. Lello’s library is an iconic place because of its unique and mysterious stairs.
The story goes that, when J.K.Rowling lived in Oporto in the early 90s, she used to frequent Lello and that it was the famous wooden staircases of the bookstore founded in 1906 that inspired her to create those of the Hogwarts School of Magic and Witchcraft.
Unfortunately, a recent tweet from the famous Harry Potter author clarified and demystified the legend. However, whenever I go to Oporto, I make a point of entering and feeling that unique energy that stimulates my imagination.
There must be a particular mystery behind booksellers who seem to guess our tastes; simultaneously, they appear with books that make us shudder.
Libraries and booksellers are crucial to strengthen the identity of a city, a neighborhood, or a street. The influence these entities have on civil society is powerful and libertarian.
Yet, technology almost destroyed this industry, with the online bookstores coming and taking every little market into the digital world.
Will independent bookshops resist the Amazons of this world?
Nothing is so healing as the human touch.
The digitization of every aspect of our lives makes us intensely feel our human touch.
Robots will come to take the majority of our jobs, but some industries will fight and thrive because of their intrinsic human touch.
Bookshops are unique in their human intuition. Booksellers are their troops, fighting an intense war against indifference and vulgarity.
I buy one or two books per month. I can’t help it; it’s stronger than me. I’m a book addict. Right now, I’m reading three books at the same time. I read at least one book per month, and sometimes I wish I had time to read more.
It’s a hard addiction to explain. Only those who live with the same dilemma know to value my words. A good bookstore and, most importantly, the booksellers- these magicians who constantly test our mental sanity- they have a special place in my heart, and I know I’m not the only one.
A magic place near my home.
My home is 5 minutes from one of the most iconic Portuguese bookshops. Top writers came were frequently to present their new books. It’s a place where people feel themselves at home. It has a coffee shop and on the first floor an area to do workshops, art exhibitions, and other beautiful projects.
Arquivo library has 5 booksellers, all women, all very friendly, knowledgeable, and always ready to help with what we need. The environment is unique.
Now that I have become a full-time writer, I go there almost every day to drink a coffee and read. I also go there to meet photographers, local writers, visual artists, and all sorts of artistic characters.
Human interaction is crucial for us, writers, to continue searching for new ideas, different ways to see the world and meet people that challenge our prejudices, our thoughts, and our imagination.
Final Thought
Bookshops and libraries hold a special place in the hearts of readers.
With the pandemic, they had to reinvent themselves, but these places have special powers. When they close doors, I know those places transform themselves into endless magical environments, with fairytales, magicians, goblins, dragons, witches, daring warriors, princes, and enchanted princesses.
For us, writers, they are our sanctuary. A place where we can lose ourselves or find ourselves. A place of learning, where we can search for new ways of looking to the world, a place where we can pick authors’ brains and fly to unknown sites.
From an early age, I remember entering bookshops and libraries. It’s always a particular place wherever I go. When I travel, museums and libraries are the places where I feel myself at home. I love to feel challenged and intrigued by some book whose title makes me shudder.
When I went to those magical places, I feel vulnerable. There’s so much knowledge and imagination in those endless pages that I feel overwhelmed.
Bookshops are an extension of me. And I am an extension of bookshops.
So often, a visit to a bookshop has cheered me and reminded me that there are good things in the world.- Vincent Van Gogh
Sign up for my email list and join the happiest readers on Medium. (This is where you get exclusive access to my daily activities, experiences, and daily thoughts).