Love Books made me love books again

Last year I got a Kindle for my birthday and I fell in love with the convenience of being able to download any book from anywhere in the world. As a result it’s been months since I’ve actually bought a book in a bookshop.

Back in the “paper days” I would often wander into a bookshop and find myself a little nervous to pick anything up in case I messed up the perfect display. Under the glare of the hovering shop assistants, I would casually glance at the book covers and, if something really appealed, I would dare to turn it over and read the synopsis.

Authors Ndumiso Ngcobo and Richard de Nooy discuss De Nooy's book 'The Big Stick' at its launch at Love Books. Image: Jacana Media

In fact, in some bookshops it’s almost as if the publications themselves are engineered into the structure of the building so that if enough people pick up a book, the whole thing will come falling down.

And so when I went to Love Books in Melville for the launch of @RicharddeNooy’s The Big Stick the other evening, it was a marvellous experience. Of course there was the expected air-kissing, “Darling, it’s been too long”, and “I looooved the original Dutch, but haven’t read the English translation yet”...

... yawn ...

... but being in the bookshop excited me. The space is really welcoming. It’s a kinda quirky, split level, warehousey type of vibe that makes heroes of the books. They’re displayed on an interesting range of furniture pieces, from an old ball-and-claw side table and a 1960s telephone stand, to a functional steel shelving rack and a delightfully contemporary bookcase with tilted shelves.

Unlike in the perfectly shop-fitted, cookie-cut, cherry/beech/maple veneer shelves of the more mainstream bookstores, I actually wanted to pick up the books. The shop owner, Kate Rogan, was all smiles and warmth and spoke with passion about the shop, books in general and wine (which is – quite fantastically – also on sale in the shop).

I bought a copy of The Big Stick at the launch and had it signed by the author. Last weekend I read it, remembering how much I enjoyed the feel of paper between my fingers, the faint smell of dust as pages are turned, the physical sense of how much I’ve read versus how much of the book is left (without having to press a button and do the maths), using a bookmark to keep my place and the peculiar satisfaction of not really knowing what to do with the bookmark once the last page has been turned.

Will I give up my Kindle? No. It’s too convenient. But will I take months to get back to a bookshop again? The sooner I can get back to Love Books, the better.

You’ll find Love Books in the Bamboo Centre, 53 Rustenburg Rd (cnr 9th Street), Melville or at http://www.lovebooks.co.za.

• Author: Colin Ford
• Tweet