Although it's geared to a much easier-going kind of shopping than we're used to, the Book Barge is a genuinely dynamic enterprise
Lee Rourke, guardian.co.uk,
The Book Barge: a buoyant business
First we had slow food, then slow writing and now, quite naturally it seems, we have slow bookselling. Slow bookselling? I hear you ask. We're all aware of what's happening to the average independent book shop in today's accelerated, one-click internet-led environment: they are closing down by the score, and it's becoming a major struggle for the average independent bookshop to survive. I've written before about what my ideal bookshop would be like, but I have to admit my ideal wouldn't stand a chance today.
I've been lamenting the demise of the independent bookshop for a while now, everything just seems to be disappearing. And then last week a strange but truly brilliant thing happened. Actually, it all started several months ago, when I received an email from The Book Barge informing me that my debut novel The Canal was their bestseller. Obviously, I investigated further and was amazed to find out that The Book Barge was indeed a floating bookshop on a canal boat (57' Cruiser Stern) in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
It is the brainchild of Sarah Henshaw. "By setting up on a canal boat," she explained, "we hope to promote a less hurried and harried lifestyle of idle pleasures, cups of tea, conversation, culture and, of course, curling up with an incomparably good Book Barge purchase." I was immediately sold. But why a canal boat? "I hoped that by creating a unique retail space, customers would realise how independent bookshops can offer a far more pleasurable shopping experience than they're likely to find online or on the discount shelves at supermarkets."
A few months later I received another email from Sarah. This time she informed me that she was about to embark on a six-month tour of the UK's canal network, incorporating a series of onboard author events along the way, including David Vann and Per Petterson, and wondered if I would like to read at one of her book clubs in London. The tour is a mammoth undertaking, as Sarah will be living on The Book Barge, hoping to swap books for the odd meal, or for the use of a shower along the way. (Most recently she offered to swap books for a mechanic to have a look at the engine – I hope she found one).
Full story at The Guardian.
I've been lamenting the demise of the independent bookshop for a while now, everything just seems to be disappearing. And then last week a strange but truly brilliant thing happened. Actually, it all started several months ago, when I received an email from The Book Barge informing me that my debut novel The Canal was their bestseller. Obviously, I investigated further and was amazed to find out that The Book Barge was indeed a floating bookshop on a canal boat (57' Cruiser Stern) in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
It is the brainchild of Sarah Henshaw. "By setting up on a canal boat," she explained, "we hope to promote a less hurried and harried lifestyle of idle pleasures, cups of tea, conversation, culture and, of course, curling up with an incomparably good Book Barge purchase." I was immediately sold. But why a canal boat? "I hoped that by creating a unique retail space, customers would realise how independent bookshops can offer a far more pleasurable shopping experience than they're likely to find online or on the discount shelves at supermarkets."
A few months later I received another email from Sarah. This time she informed me that she was about to embark on a six-month tour of the UK's canal network, incorporating a series of onboard author events along the way, including David Vann and Per Petterson, and wondered if I would like to read at one of her book clubs in London. The tour is a mammoth undertaking, as Sarah will be living on The Book Barge, hoping to swap books for the odd meal, or for the use of a shower along the way. (Most recently she offered to swap books for a mechanic to have a look at the engine – I hope she found one).
Full story at The Guardian.
1 comment:
Oh, I love this canal boat bookstore idea!
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