Australian Booksellers embrace Valentine’s Day

Bookseller & Publisher

A number of booksellers across the country are gearing up for Valentine’s Day on 14 February by showcasing books that appeal to the heart, with many turning to social media to offer Valentine’s Day recommendations—and to have a bit of fun.

Shearer’s Bookshop in Sydney is running a Valentine’s Day social media campaign around ‘book pick-up lines’. A recent Facebook post, inspired by the classic novel Moby Dick, features the line: ‘Some people call me Ishmael, but you can call me tonight’. There’s also a Hemingway-inspired ‘Hey girl, the sun isn’t the only thing that rises’. Bookseller Antonia Hayes describes the promotion as ‘a bit of fun’, saying that the pick-up lines have been retweeted and shared on Facebook. The store has also set up a Valentine’s Day table with a range of Penguin classics, some collections of love poetry, and kids’ books about love.

Melbourne bookshop Hill of Content has posted a photograph on its Facebook page of a pile of love-related books topped with red flowers, with the caption: ‘Beautiful books about love that would be perfect for Valentine's Day gifts’. Hill of Content told Books+Publishing that popular Valentine’s Day titles have included The Picador Book of Love Poems (John Stammers, Picador) and Love: A History (Simon May, Yale University Press).

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