We wouldn't consider Walmart or Costco bookstores, yet they both sell books. At what point does a bookstore cease being a bookstore and becomes a plain 'ol store that happens to sell books? Even Toys R Us Canada has now opened their own children's book section, but they are still a toy store.
When will we no longer consider Indigo or Chapters bookstores? According to their own most recent quarterly earnings, 57% are books. What about dedicated floor-space? I'm sure this number swings wildly past that 50% mark.
But that's neither here nor there. Indigo is quickly approaching that threshold and will cross that line sooner or later.
No crock-ery sold here...
I think we can all agree; it's time for a bookstore to be a bookstore.
And that is exactly what we're seeing in Ottawa's independent bookshops: books!
To my knowledge, this is the first time ALL nominees in the category of Best Bookstore have been independent bookshops. No big-box bookstores. No Chapters or Indigos.
A sign of the times? A shift away from the big-box bookstore and back to the smaller, more personal independent bookshops? It certainly looks that way.
Perfect Books (Elgin)
Books on Beechwood (Beechwood)
Octopus Books (The Glebe)
Singing Pebbles Books (Old Ottawa East)
The Spaniel's Tale Bookstore (Hintonburg)
Black Squirrel Books (Old Ottawa South)
White Pines Books (Arnprior)
The Book's Better Bookshop (Carlton Place)
Kobold's Corner (Kanata)
Mill Street Books (Almonte)
No matter where you are in Ottawa or the Ottawa Region, there's an independent bookstore to service you.
It's not that I have an problem with water bottles, yoga matts, comforters, warm snuggly blankets, comfy socks, Lego sets, and knick-knacks. A place for everything and everything in its place. But books' primary place should be in bookstores; not as secondary items.
This new year should shape up to be an interesting one. And with several new titles set to release within the first quarter of this year, they may very well be visiting these local shops.
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