On Small Bookstores in Big Cities
and why they need to be preserved, nurtured and celebrated.
Last evening I came across this photo while browsing through Instagram. For some reason it held my attention. It was not the people. It was not the colours. It was not the funny drawing on the sign at the bus stop.
It was the name of the store behind the bus stop. It was called, ‘The Last Bookshop’. Those words strung together just sent a chill down my spine. I was not sure why but I knew I felt this pain in my body that I was not able to really explain or understand completely.
I did some research about the photo. I found that it was the name of an actual second-hand bookshop in the heart of Camden Street in Dublin, Ireland. Here is their Instagram page and an article about the kinds of books you can find in that store1. This was how this bookshop was described in that article
The Last Bookshop is a secondhand bookstore established by Alan Warnock. Originally located in Ranelagh, The Last Bookshop relocated to Camden Street making way for a newly constructed hotel. Behind the red facade thousands of books are organized on shelves and in neat stacks, the owner relying on his memory as to where any particular tome can be found. The front of the shop is reserved for books on Irish interest, including Irish language books. A narrow path between the books leads to the rear of the store where general fiction, history, religion, and science books can be found. A back door and an archway of bamboo leads into a hidden courtyard that is home to the Cake Café.
There was something so human and imperfect about this store. Something I knew from personal experience. I have spent many hours in bookstores in the past ten years. Every time I enter I feel like I am safe because I am in the company of story tellers from around the world. Every time I leave I have a sense of concern about how this store will survive in the digital age of downloads, discounts and ebooks.
I reflected on my feelings a bit more. I realized I was just scared about the idea of the last bookshop. Will there come a time when people do not want to go to bookshops and bookstores anymore?
No. I had to do something about this. So I started with writing this essay. Firstly, I decided to make a list of my favourite bookstores in my city. I then wanted to find out what made them special.
Favourite Bookstores in my city
I created a social media post about my favourite bookstores in Mumbai, India. Here is the image I made for that post:
I was grateful to these bookstores and booksellers for making me love the city a bit more and to help me find my next reading adventure. I have spent many happy hours browsing their collections and have spent many difficult days in their aisles. This is also a list of places to visit on your next trip to the city and a love letter and shoutout to some of my favourite spaces in the city of dreams. Here is a link to their names and social media handles to explore their collections and community better.
I left this note at the end of the post urging family and friends to support these cultural hearts of our community in every way possible.
Please follow and support these bookshops and bookstores in our city. Buy physical books from local book stores in your city as much as you can. This is a tiny tiny way to support and encourage these bookshops that are truly the cultural heart of our communities. Another way to support them is to follow them on social media and attend book themed events, book club meetings and book launches they organize for readers and book lovers of the city. They put a lot of time and effort into their social media handles and are really dedicated to help you find your next great read. You can start off by sharing this post and following the bookstores linked below. And to the book sellers and book entrepreneurs that sustain and nurture these communities. Thank you. We love you in more ways than one for keeping our love for reading alive. You know who you are.
“Books choose their readers, not the other way around. I believe that booksellers are the matchmakers. Thank you.” – Cecelia Ahern
Types of Bookstores in Big Cities (like Mumbai)
I have noticed that there are mainly three types of bookstores in Mumbai:
Corporate Chain Bookstores
Independent Second Hand Bookstalls
Independent Bookstores
On Corporate Chain Bookstores
Crossword Bookstores, Kitab Khana and The White Crow Books are examples of corporate chain book stores.
They are vital and important parts of the city’s cultural fabric. They organize book club meetings, book themed events and regular book sales that help build the reading culture and book community of the city. They have access to more funds, prioritize commercial viability and focus on stocking best sellers. Here are three benefits of being a large corporate chain bookstore:
Multiple Outlets - This is a large, often multinational, for-profit company that operates multiple retail outlets selling books, magazines, stationery, and sometimes café services under a unified brand.
Uniform Inventory Control - These chains are typically organized around centralized management, standardized store layouts, and uniform inventory control systems that prioritize commercial viability and scalability.
High Volume Sales - Unlike independent bookstores that may curate selections based on local tastes or the owner’s literary interests, corporate chains focus on high-volume sales, bestsellers, and mass appeal. Because of large sales volumes, they often negotiate favourable deals with publishers to maximize profits.
Here is the mission statement from the Crossword Bookstores Website2. This is one of the largest multi national chain of bookstores in India
Crossword Bookstores was founded in 1992 with a simple yet passionate mission – To positively impact the world through the power of reading and learning. Right from our first store in Mumbai to the 120 stores across 40 cities today, we have continued to serve and nurture our community of readers for over 3 decades. As India's leading bookstore retailer, we champion books and nourish a love for the written word through a rich, handpicked collection covering numerous topics. Our stores are thoughtfully designed with interiors that inspire and relax, allowing quiet spaces to help you discover great books. In addition to our diverse selection of books, we have premium stationery and toys, to make your life a little easier, and a lot more colourful!
On Independent Secondhand Bookstalls
Independent second hand bookstalls exist in multiple parts of the city. The most popular street to buy second hand books is located around the Fort region close to Flora Fountain in the Southern part of Mumbai. It is a five minute walk from the Churchgate station. Here are some pictures of these stalls that sell second hand copies of books, magazines and textbooks. You can find similar such bookstalls and bookstreets in other parts of the city like Matunga, Dadar, Ville Parle, Andheri and Versova. You can message me if you want exact location details of these second hand book stalls around the city.
Edgar Stephens and Sonali Kapoor wrote about the business model of these independent second hand bookstalls in this blog post from 20163 ,
But from where do they get so many books? Entire Mumbai! The books or the ‘maal’ as they call it, is collected by the maal-waale. Maal-waalas scout for books from raddhiwalas, bookstores and the customers themselves. The customers even give their address to the book sellers and the maal-waale collect it from the customer’s house. The business model is simplistic. The book bazaar gives cash to customers in exchange of books and cash and/or credit from the maal-waale for the books. The books are bought for Rs 20-30 from the customers and the maal-waale, being the middle man, sell it to the booksellers for Rs 40-50 and they sell it to the end consumer for Rs 70-80.
I often visit this second hand book stall right outside Ville Parle station. I purchase books from this stall when I am on a low budget and cannot afford a new book. I can also borrow and return books for a reduced cost from this bookstall. Prashant C. Trikannad wrote about how these stalls allow readers to borrow and return books4 in this blogpost from 2014
One of the good things about these footpath booksellers is that they also lend books on a library basis. For instance, you can borrow an Agatha Christie or a P.G. Wodehouse for Rs.100 ($1.60) and keep it for a month. Upon returning it, the bookseller will repay Rs.70 and pocket the balance Rs.30 as reading price. Prices vary depending on the book you borrow. However, before lending you the book, he makes a small notation on the last page, a sort of identification, so he knows you borrowed it from him. He will scribble 100 - 70 = 30 and put his initials next to it. There is no limit on the number of books you can borrow. In case you don't ever return the book, then he keeps Rs.100 as the actual price of the book. In fact, books are lent on the selling price on the assumption that you won't return them.
The other bookstores on that list are all run and managed by independent book sellers and book entrepreneurs. They normally sell new copies of books, but some of them also sell second hand books. As a reader, I have a special place in my heart for these independent book stores.
Personally I believe that they have the best collections of books. The book store owners are often avid readers themselves. They curate the collections and often talk about books actively on their social media platforms. Some of the best books I have found or read recently have come to my life because of random conversations with the owners of these stores.
But…
What was special about these Independent Book Stores?
Trilogy Bookshop and Library is an indie curated bookshop and library in Bandra, Mumbai. The collection is curated by the owners who love books on nature, wildlife photography and science fiction.
Paperback at Prithvi Bookshop is a bookshop located in Juhu, Mumbai. It is located within a theatre space called Prithvi Theatre. They have a great collection of Hindi literature and an excellent collection of published plays and screenplays.
Book Garden is a bookshop and a reading room located in Vile Parle, Mumbai. It is located in a busy marketplace close to the railway station. Readers can also spend time reading books at the store by paying a daily fee. The collection is curated by the owner to reflect a wide variety of tastes and interests including picture books, non fiction books and old classics.
Fictionary is India's first fiction bookstore and cafe located in Bandra, Mumbai. They have an excellent and updated collection of fiction reads in genres like mystery, science fiction, romance and literary contemporary fiction.
Why Independent Bookstores matter?
Each store in the above list had something unique about them. It reminded me about how each human being had their own unique story about their life that was filled with its own set of joys and challenges. We needed a diverse set of bookshops because we had a diverse set of human stories to tell and preserve within our communities.
Sometimes it was about how they curated books. Sometimes it was about the kinds of book themed events they organized. Sometimes it was about the book related posts on their social media account. Sometimes it was about how they spoke about old books that needed to be rediscovered. Sometimes it was about how they displayed books based on ideas rather than genres.
Each bookstore somehow became the cultural heart of that community.
Readers came here when they wanted to understand how politics worked in their country. They came here when they wanted to read about the religion they grew up with in their homes and communities. They came here when they were exploring their sexual identity. They came here when they picked up cooking or photography as a hobby. They came here looking for a friend in a large lonely urban city. They came here to process emotions related to the loss of a loved one. They came here when they just broke up with the love of their life.
These bookstores were the safe spaces that readers turned to in good and bad times.
I even asked ChatGPT about the importance of independent bookstores and here is what it had to say,
Independent bookstores often champion local authors, small publishers, and niche genres that large chains and online giants overlook. They help sustain a rich and diverse literary culture, which is essential for democracy, creativity, and intellectual freedom. Unlike algorithm-driven platforms, indie bookstores offer human-curated recommendations and deeply knowledgeable staff. The survival of independent bookstores helps resist the monopolization of ideas and commerce. Without them, a handful of corporate players could shape reading habits, censor access (subtly or overtly), and homogenize literary offerings based on profit rather than value. In short, independent bookstores protect freedom of thought, diversity of voices, and the soul of literature. Their loss would be a cultural and civic erosion—quiet, but significant.
Okay, we had lots of good reasons to preserve and protect these spaces in our communities.
But why was I worried?
Major problems faced by independent bookstores
Leonard Fernandes is the founder of the The Dogears Bookshop, Goa. He founded the Independent Bookshops Association of India (IBAI) along with six other bookseller across India in 2020 to bring independent bookstores across India together, forge partnerships within and outside the publishing industry, and advocate for rights.
In an interview with Kanishka Gupta from Scroll.in5 he spoke about the problems faced by most independent bookstores across the country,
The IBAI therefore presents essentially a unified voice, especially while dealing with other stakeholders in the publishing industry, such as publishers and booksellers. Everyone in the industry knows what the problems are – a preference for online platforms, deep discounts offered by the likes of Amazon, irregular supply of books, differential treatment of retailers based on volumes sold. We hope that we can work with publishers and distributors to get them to sit up and notice and address the concerns we have.
Most independent bookstores cannot offer the steep discounts offered by online platforms and also struggle with regular access to latest books from publishers because of limited sales numbers.
The Independent Bookshops Association of India (IBAI) is a membership organization of independently owned bookshops operating in India created in 20206. It was created by the owners of six of India’s independently owned bookshops – Diviya Kapur of Literati, Goa; Raman Shresta of Rachna Books, Gangtok; Leonard and Queenie Fernandes of The Dogears Bookshop, Goa; Vishal Pipraiya of Pagdandi Bookstore Cafe, Pune; Aman and Mayura Misra of Storyteller Bookstore, Kolkata; and Ahalya and Meethil Momaya of Trilogy, Mumbai. They were doing everything in their power to create a collective voice for independent bookstores across the country that faced many similar problems.
I had a feeling many of the same problems were faced by independent bookstores across the world. I felt a bit helpless as someone that loved bookstores and bookshops. Then I came back to this image that I shared at the start of this essay.
Things were not all that bad. It was still not time for ‘The Last Bookshop’. That was just a clever marketing strategy by the bookseller to bring in new readers. It was pretty effective to be honest!
After writing this essay, I also realized that I could be the change I wish to see in the world.
I could support bookstores in my city by ensuring that I buy physical books from them.
I could also support bookstores in my city by being an active member of their digital and physical communities.
I would start from there.
Interview with Independent Bookstore Owners
I could also do my bit to share stories from these bookstores and booksellers. Recently, I got a chance to interview Tanmayee Thakur from Book Garden in Vile Parle for the #LearningStories podcast. It is one my favourite bookstores in the city. Talking to her left me a bit more hopeful about the fate of independent bookstores in our city. Here is a link to the video recording of the show
In this episode of the Bookshop Podcast, Mandy Jackson-Beverly chats with Ahalya Naidu and Meethil Momaya about their bookshop in Mumbai called the Trilogy Curated Bookshop & Library. They discuss why they opened a bookshop and library in Mumbai, the importance of books in translation, local authors in Mumbai and more.
Quotations about Bookstores
To end this essay, I would like to share five of my favourite quotes on independent bookstores
“In a bookstore, you don't just find books—you find parts of yourself you didn’t know were missing.”
— Cornelia Funke
"Bookshops are the cultural anchors of communities—they’re where ideas are exchanged and relationships are made."
— Ann Patchett
"Independent bookstores are acts of resistance, and their survival is a symbol of what we value as a society."
— Roxane Gay
"A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking, dreaming, and curious."
— John Green
"Bookshops are time machines, safe houses, treasure chests—all in one."
— Jeanette Winterson
Do you have a bookstore memory from your childhood? Do you have a bookstore recommendation from your city? Please do leave a comment with your answers or web links to these questions. It will help other readers discover these spaces too.
Until next time,
Keep Learning.
Abhishek Shetty
Article on the Last Bookshop in Dublin, Ireland - https://theshopkeepers.com/shops/the-last-bookshop/
Crossword Bookstores Website - https://www.crossword.in/pages/about-us
Stephens, E. & Kapoor, S. 2016. The Real Life MBA - Footpath Entrepreneurs - Mumbai, Fort Book Bazaar. InsideIIM.com. https://insideiim.com/the-real-life-mba-footpath-entrepreneurs-mumbai-fort-book-bazaar
Trikannad, P.C. 2014. Footpath libraries. Chess, Comics, Crosswords, Books, Music, Cinema. http://chesscomicsandcrosswords.blogspot.com/2014/02/footpath-libraries.html
Gupta, K. (2020, May 31). Six indie bookstores have founded an association of bookshops. What do they hope to achieve? Scroll.in. https://scroll.in/article/963365/six-indie-bookstores-have-founded-an-association-of-bookshops-what-do-they-hope-to-achieve
IBAI Website - https://www.indiebookshops.in/
These bookstores are a world of their own. Well put together bhai :)