After declining for years in the face of sharp competition from online sellers, specialty bookstores in Greater Kaohsiung are experiencing a revival, with about 10 stores now listed on the city’s semi-official roster.
Greater Kaohsiung Bureau of Cultural Affairs Director-General Shih Che (史哲) said that publishing firms and bookstores have been strongly impacted by the rise of online shopping, with many medium-sized bookstores being forced to close, while larger ones, such as Eslite, integrate other businesses such as cafes and restaurants into their bookstores to cater to a wider audience.
“I am happy to see these small, specialty bookstores develop in Greater Kaohsiung,” Shih said, adding that the increase in the number of literary salon-type bookstores was in line with the municipality’s policy to develop a well-read public.
Photo: Chu Yu-ling, Taipei Times
Compared with the nation’s four other special municipalities, Greater Kaohsiung has fewer specialty bookshops, with some — such as the Good Bookstore, which mainly sells family and women-oriented books, the City Bookstore in Sanmin District (三民) and the Mr Han Cookbook Specialty Bookstore near the culture center — closing over the past decade or so.
The closures had many wondering whether the proverbial little bookshop around the corner, had a chance of surviving in an increasingly competitive industry.
Integrated stores that combine books and cafes, such as the Sala de Estar in Fongshan District (鳳山), or the Little Tree Cafe Books and Booking in the city center, have fared better than these specialty stores.
Photo: Ko Yu-hao, Taipei Times
However, two recent openings has given some hope to readers.
Just this month, Sanyu Bookstore, touted as the first independent bookstore in Greater Kaohsiung to offer a literary salon ambiance, opened near the city’s culture center.
Sanyu Bookstore primarily stocks non-best-seller books or publications that have already been taken off the shelves at mainstream bookstores, owner Chung Shang-hung (鍾尚宏) said.
Chung said he hoped to promote and expand readership of the humanities and arts because they foster civic consciousness.
Bookshops are something of a sunset industry, and many stores have dropped humanities and arts activities, Chung said, adding that Sanyu will periodically hold book reviews on literature, film, music or travel publications.
Books for such events will be handpicked by local experts, who will offer more in-depth insights into the topic being discussed, Chung said.
These events typically draw about 150 people, showing a strong interest among local residents in such activities, he said.
The second specialty bookstore that opened recently in Greater Kaohsiung is Mollie Used Books, across from the Greater Kaohsiung Public Library in Cianjin District (前金).
The bookstore had invited writers such as Liu Ka-shiang (劉克襄), Chen Hsueh (陳雪) and Hsieh Che-ching (謝哲青) to lead this month’s reading sessions, which it said were very successful and solidified the bookstore’s position in the city.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
RSS