In a day and age when we have grown accustomed to the high frequency of obits for bookstores, the unveiling of a new one sprawling 5,000 square feet on Church Street is definitely a reason for cheer.
However, what is more significant is that Bookworm, which opened this weekend, will be the fourth in a less than a kilometre stretch of Church Street. Patrons are already familiar with Blossom Book House, Gangarams Book Bureau and Goobey’s Republic of Books. This only renews the status of Church Street as the go-to destination for English books in the city.
Besides these four, are Higginbothams on M.G. Road, the iconic Select Book House off Brigade Road and Sapna Book House on Residency Road, all a stone’s throw away from Church Street making this area a ‘book district’ of sorts for the city.
Even as the fall of M.G. Road – Brigade Road – Church Street as the numero uno weekend destination for youth is lamented by old timers, booksellers seem to be making merry. Krishna Gowda of Bookworm said that Church Street is the best place to sell books, as it offers maximum footfalls of the ‘book-buying’ community. “A stroll from Koshy’s to Brigade Road now offers a wide variety of books. The profile and demographics of those visiting Church Street goes well with booksellers,” he said. Mayee Gowda of Blossom Book House agrees, saying the footfalls at his store are increasing.
However, Noor Hussain of Variety Book House and Magazine stores, two shops that focused on magazines but closed down recently, said that the footfalls were actually going down on Church Street. He closed down the shops due to skyrocketing rent and falling footfalls. He is searching for a smaller place to restart his store. Mr. Hussain also said that the free content of foreign magazines available online affected his business. But bookstores on Church Street have not been hit by online e-commerce sites. Booksellers attribute this to focusing on used books. Apart from Gangarams, all the three other bookstores have had a loyal following because of their collection of used books.
