Embiggen Books

Embiggen Books

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Posted 2017-04-23 by Emily Forbesfollow


Today, there are ebooks built into our iPads, Kindles and tablets which allow us to access a novel and to travel to a new world, without excess baggage, shoulder strain or the fear of losing our bookmarks. But should the musty smell, crisp pages and effervescent joy of opening the first page of a familiar paperback be sacrificed for a mere case of practicality? Are ebooks an adequate replacement for their predecessors? Are bookshops really dead? At , they think not.

Located at 197-203 Little Lonsdale Street, is within walking distance of Melbourne Central Railway Station and the State Library of Victoria. Open seven days a week, they strive to provide future generations with the pleasure that only comes from a paper cover, spine and pages. Their slogan, 'The Bookshop is Dead! Long Live the Bookshop!' encompasses the bubbling, magical excitement of walking into a new bookshop packed to bursting point.



The treasures of are stacked high on old wooden shelves that disappear into an open-beamed ceiling. Toward the centre of the shop, they have a classic handmade coffee and hot chocolate cart. Coffee is supplied by Edmund and Elena Scharf from Coffee Basics in Castlemaine, who use an Eastern European dark roasted coffee blend that is well worth the expense. Along with the traditional miscellany of literature, science, philosophy and cookery, ' books are also accompanied by DVDs, quirky gifts, and a wide selection of vinyls.



Reading can be a solitary act, but it's also a catalyst for forming and sharing new ideas. Big Ideas Book Club, hosted at , meets to discuss and develop them. They gather on the last Wednesday of every month and, aside from a donations jar for refreshments, attendance is free. Members read fiction one month and non-fiction the next, with past reads including The Rosie Project by Graham Simsion, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler, A Clockwork Universe by Edward Dolnick, State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, and The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.

The bookshop is dead. Maybe. But, still, we continue to persevere, we hold steadfast and, perhaps, one day we will triumph. Long live the bookshop.



#books_writing
#cafes
#clubs
#coffee
#free
#city
#victoria
%wnmelbourne
139882 - 2023-06-13 16:05:18

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