To encourage readers to visit independent bookstores, an exhibition highlighting illustrations of 30 indie bookshops nationwide is being held at Hungya Bookstore in Chiayi until July 25.
Artist Hsu Chia-ling (徐佳伶) toured the nation to visit independent bookstores, including Taipei’s Tonshan Bookstore and Casa de Socrates in Hsinchu, aiming to portray the shops in their original beauty and spirit, and to capture the owners’ unique charisma, she said.
Many independent booksellers have been losing customers to online retailers and mega bookstore chains, she said.
Photo: Wang Shan-yen, Taipei Times
Cats are omnipresent in a drawing that depicts Casa de Socrates — a secondhand bookshop and cafe — as the owner is a devoted cat lover, she said.
Taiwan Association for Independent Bookshop Culture and the Ministry of Culture are cohosting the touring exhibition, she said.
A passport that introduces the featured bookshops is available for free at bookstores and visitors can follow a guide in the passport to collect a stamp at each store, she said.
Each shop boasts a unique story and it took her half a year to visit the 30 bookstores and interview the owners, she said.
Hsiao Wen-fu (蕭文福), the late owner of A Fu’s Bookstore in New Taipei City that specializes in children’s illustrated books, had been illiterate and the bookstore was a spinoff from his effort to learn to read and write, Hsu said.
Hsiao began holding a weekly story-reading at the store eight years ago, where parents and volunteers read stories to children, Hsu said.
Hsiao, who suffered from heart disease and high blood pressure, died last year, but his wife took over the store, Hsu said.
The difference between independent and online bookstores lies in their business models: Independent bookstores order and market books that are less popular because the owners are concerned with certain social issues, whereas online bookstores or bookshop chains are profit-oriented and drop publications that face low demand, Hsu said.
Hungya Bookstore owner Yu Kuo-hsin (余國信) said that there were 16 bookstores in Chiayi County seven years ago, but many of them have gone out of business after Eslite Bookstore and other chains changed the local market.
A bookstore must be multifaceted to keep its clientele, such as hosting seminars and concerts and providing dining, Yu said, adding that he hopes the exhibition would encourage bookstore tourism and boost book sales.
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