Kingstone Bookstore’s Chengzhong branch on Chongqing South Road, Taipei’s “book street,” is closing down next Sunday after more than 30 years of business. Kingstone has rented this century-old Western-style building, built in 1912, since the 1980s. For many, the building is full of fond memories.
Kingstone said that the focus of the entire “book street” has shifted from bookstores to business hotels and the dining sector, so the landlord decided not to renew the lease. The branch is having a big sale, offering free coffee to shoppers who buy books, to express its gratitude.
Although 151 bookstores from across the country have shut up shop in the past four years, some, such as Tsutaya Bookstore from Japan, are still going thanks to a complex business model. In the face of the current trend, Eslite Bookstore also announced last month its intention to innovate its current business model and actively develop more personalized services.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Liberty Times
照片︰自由時報記者黃耀徵
(Eddy Chang, Taipei Times)
金石堂城中店在台北市的「書街」重慶南路屹立三十多年後,即將於下週日結束營業。金石堂在一九八○年代,租下這棟建於一九一二年的百年洋樓作為分店,而這裡也充滿許多人過去美好的回憶。
金石堂表示,整條「書街」重心已轉移至商旅和餐飲,因此房東決定不再續約。該分店正舉辦全館特賣、買書送咖啡的感恩活動。
全台書店四年來收掉一百五十一家,但仍有像是來自日本的蔦屋書店等,因採取複合經營而崛起。為因應這股潮流,誠品書店上個月亦宣布,將創新既有的經營模式,並積極研發個人化服務。
(台北時報張聖恩)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)