Independent bookstore provides oasis for book lovers
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E-mail Xinhua, April 23, 2014
Jorge Luis Borges once said, "I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library." While China's bookstores have dwindled, book lovers in one north China city are bucking the trend to build a reading oasis.
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Cathy (R) and her best friend Zhang Xinyuan are showing the books they read recently in Guomao, a business center in Beijing, on April 11, 2014. According to Cathy, the fast city beat in Beijing somewhat affects people's enthusiasm in reading. [China.org.cn/ Photo by Wei Yao] |
Surrounded by flowers and potted plants, the ONCE cafe near downtown Taiyuan, capital city of north China's Shanxi Province, also doubles as a small bookstore. Sha Jinlong, the cafe's owner, has placed tall bookshelves against two walls of the room and stuffed them with hundreds of books offered by his friend Hao Yuze, now a freshman at the Business College of Shanxi University.
"I have always wanted to open a bookstore, but I can't spare money to buy this many books," said Sha. "Hao had the same thought, but he didn't have the place. We kind of clicked and started this bookstore together."
China has witnessed the closure of some of its most famous independent bookstores. In its heyday, one of the biggest private bookstores, O2SUN Bookstore, had over 30 branches. The chain closed down in 2011 due to lack of funds.
Sha's bookstore does not just sell books, but also offers a book lending service. Customers can borrow from the shop after paying a deposit. The books in the cafe mostly fall into the categories of literature, arts, and social science.
Sha and Hao started a book club last year to connect the city's book lovers.
"We set up an online chat group where we invite people to read a specific book each week," said Sha. "We ask people to come here and talk about it on weekends."
Around a dozen readers attend each time to share their ideas, according to Sha. He also invites local celebrities, such as writers, poets, and singer-songwriters, to join the discussion and recommend literary works.
Oasis library
NCE Cafe is part of a youth cultural exchange platform in Taiyuan called Oasis Library. Founded by Hao Yuze, the platform was established in July 2013 to help citizens borrow and share books. Around a dozen people now help run Oasis Library.
"I have been organizing reading clubs as a volunteer since I was in high school," said Hao. "I enjoyed doing it, so we built Oasis Library."
In addition to ONCE Cafe, Oasis also includes two other coffee bars, both owned by Hao's friend. All three cafes are used to host book-sharing activities.
"For me, reading is enjoyable. Books are comparatively inexpensive. We are not born with silver spoons in our mouths, but we can read the best books. For example, I can afford "Ulysses" without spending too much, right?" said Hao.
Information on book sharing activities is published online, and most participants are young people.
"Our team is young and thus limited in terms of organizing ability. But we are trying our best to combine the best local resources, and I'm sure we are providing some quality activities," said Hao.
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