After declining for years in the face of sharp competition from online sellers, specialty bookstores in Greater Kaohsiung are experiencing a revival, with about 10 stores now listed on the city’s semi-official roster.
Greater Kaohsiung Bureau of Cultural Affairs Director-General Shih Che (史哲) said that publishing firms and bookstores have been strongly impacted by the rise of online shopping, with many medium-sized bookstores being forced to close, while larger ones, such as Eslite, integrate other businesses such as cafes and restaurants into their bookstores to cater to a wider audience.
“I am happy to see these small, specialty bookstores develop in Greater Kaohsiung,” Shih said, adding that the increase in the number of literary salon-type bookstores was in line with the municipality’s policy to develop a well-read public.
Photo: Chu Yu-ling, Taipei Times
Compared with the nation’s four other special municipalities, Greater Kaohsiung has fewer specialty bookshops, with some — such as the Good Bookstore, which mainly sells family and women-oriented books, the City Bookstore in Sanmin District (三民) and the Mr Han Cookbook Specialty Bookstore near the culture center — closing over the past decade or so.
The closures had many wondering whether the proverbial little bookshop around the corner, had a chance of surviving in an increasingly competitive industry.
Integrated stores that combine books and cafes, such as the Sala de Estar in Fongshan District (鳳山), or the Little Tree Cafe Books and Booking in the city center, have fared better than these specialty stores.
Photo: Ko Yu-hao, Taipei Times
However, two recent openings has given some hope to readers.
Just this month, Sanyu Bookstore, touted as the first independent bookstore in Greater Kaohsiung to offer a literary salon ambiance, opened near the city’s culture center.
Sanyu Bookstore primarily stocks non-best-seller books or publications that have already been taken off the shelves at mainstream bookstores, owner Chung Shang-hung (鍾尚宏) said.
Chung said he hoped to promote and expand readership of the humanities and arts because they foster civic consciousness.
Bookshops are something of a sunset industry, and many stores have dropped humanities and arts activities, Chung said, adding that Sanyu will periodically hold book reviews on literature, film, music or travel publications.
Books for such events will be handpicked by local experts, who will offer more in-depth insights into the topic being discussed, Chung said.
These events typically draw about 150 people, showing a strong interest among local residents in such activities, he said.
The second specialty bookstore that opened recently in Greater Kaohsiung is Mollie Used Books, across from the Greater Kaohsiung Public Library in Cianjin District (前金).
The bookstore had invited writers such as Liu Ka-shiang (劉克襄), Chen Hsueh (陳雪) and Hsieh Che-ching (謝哲青) to lead this month’s reading sessions, which it said were very successful and solidified the bookstore’s position in the city.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS