Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Author Nikesh Shukla calls for more support to local bookshops

by LAUREN CODLING

AUTHOR Nikesh Shukla has urged for more support to local bookshops and booksellers, warning of the threat that large online retailers have on the industry.


Speaking ahead of Bookshop Day on Saturday (3), Shukla described booksellers as “the unsung heroes of book industry”.

“If I tell a bookseller a book I love, they can recommend five to ten books that I’d also like,” the award-winning writer told Eastern Eye. “It is something that an Amazon algorithm can’t do.  I think that the expertise of booksellers is at such threat as more people go online.”

If book-lovers have concerns on physically visiting their local bookstore during the on-going coronavirus crisis, Shukla suggested going online and browsing their website instead.

“Booksellers care about the industry and ensuring that we can discover a book that we wouldn’t know about,” the Meatspace writer explained. “That is the wonder of a bookshop - you go in and you have infinite choices.”

According to Shukla, some publishers even tend to look for booksellers when they are looking for future talent in the industry.

“My friend Sharmaine Lovegrove (editor at Dialogue Books) insists that anyone who wants to work in the book industry should spend their first few years working in a book shop,” he revealed. “They know books more than any other.”

Shukla claimed to use bookshops frequently, in the knowledge that he would be supporting the industry, the high street and the store itself. During the crisis, he said, it was of utmost importance to support the local community.

“The world feels big and we often feel very helpless in the context of it, but thinking locally and supporting our local community is much more important than thinking that a tweet can save the world,” he remarked.

Asked to highlight some of his favourite bookstores, Bristol-based Shukla noted Storysmiths in South Bristol. He claimed their website showcased “thoughtful and personal” write-ups of every book featured. He also highlighted a number of sellers in his native London, including New Beacon Books, which specialises in black literature, and Round Table Books, an inclusive children’s bookshop.

“All of them are great at knowing their communities and servicing them,” he said.

Growing up, Shukla said he was a regular visitor to bookshops – but could never afford anything. Instead, he would visit the stores and read at the back of the shop. At university, his interest did not wane and he would regularly visit his local bookstore.

“(My friends and I) would always meet at the Foyles on Charing Cross Road, it was near the Jazz Café which we used to go to because we thought it was really cool,” he laughed.

Coincidentally, it was the same Foyles which his mother and father used to browse when they were first dating in the 1970s. “They used to go there for day dates,” Shukla revealed.

Bookshop Day, the annual celebration of bookshops in the UK and Ireland, also coincides with the launch of the Books are my Bag (BAMB) shortlist. Revealed on Thursday (1), the shortlist features a range of books nominated by bookshops across the country.

Nominated fiction books include The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet, Boy Parts by Eliza Clark and Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-jo.

"It is great to see such a diverse shortlist of books,” Shukla said on the list. “I love the mixture of small press and big publishers on all of the lists and I really like that it is booksellers recommending the next big reads.”

Shukla himself won the BAMB Readers Choice award in 2016 for The Good Immigrant, an anthology of twenty-one essays. Edited by Shukla, the essays focused on race, immigration and identity.

It was a great moment for Shukla, who said he loved that it had been chosen by readers. “The fact it was booksellers who had invested in the prize and had been voted for by readers – that beats any judging panel ever.”

For more information visit www.booksaremybag.com

More For You

Pakistan rejects claim of China’s role in border clash

Asim Munir

Pakistan rejects claim of China’s role in border clash

PAKISTAN’S army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday (7) rejected Delhi’s allegation that his military received active support from longtime ally China in its conflict with India in May.

The Indian Army’s deputy chief, Lieutenant General Rahul Singh, said last week that China gave Islamabad “live inputs” on key Indian positions.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi courts Latin nations to expand trade relations

Christine Kangaloo awards Narendra Modi with the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago last Friday (4)

Modi courts Latin nations to expand trade relations

INDIA’S prime minister, Narendra Modi met Argentine president Javier Milei in Buenos Aires last Saturday (5), urging the expansion of New Delhi’s preferential trade deal with South America’s Mercosur bloc.

The bilateral talks with Milei were the latest in Modi’s whistle-stop diplomatic tour culminating in the summit of Brics emerging economies which began last Sunday (6) in Brazil.

Keep ReadingShow less
Minister 'open to talks' on British Sikh regiment

Lord Coaker (Photo: UK Parliament)

Minister 'open to talks' on British Sikh regiment

A FRESH parliamentary initiative to establish a dedicated Sikh regiment within the British Army has gained momentum in the House of Lords, with defence minister Lord Coaker expressing willingness to engage in further discussions about the long-debated proposal.

The issue was raised in the House of Lords on Monday (7) by Labour peer Lord Sahota, who asked whether there had been any progress on long-standing calls for a Sikh regiment.

Keep ReadingShow less
Heatwave Alert: Don’t Leave Contraceptives or Medication in Cars

Heat can also damage everyday items like sunglasses, suncream and vape devices

iStock

Drivers warned to remove contraceptives and medication from cars during UK heatwave

Highlights:

  • Experts urge motorists to avoid leaving certain items in vehicles during upcoming heatwave
  • Temperatures expected to rise above 30°C across large parts of the UK
  • Contraceptives and common medications can lose effectiveness in high heat
  • Heat can also damage everyday items like sunglasses, suncream and vape devices

Drivers urged to act as UK braces for extended heatwave

Drivers across the UK are being urged to remove a range of everyday items from their cars ahead of a predicted heatwave, with experts warning that the rising temperatures could pose both safety and health risks.

The Met Office has forecast a prolonged spell of hot weather, with temperatures expected to soar into the low 30s on Thursday and Friday. Much of the UK is likely to hit its regional heatwave threshold by the weekend, with this episode potentially affecting a wider area and lasting longer than previous hot spells.

Keep ReadingShow less
Royal Mail

The Royal Mail logo is seen on the side of a van as the UK government clear a 3.57 billion pound takeover offer by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky in London, December 16, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters

Ofcom updates Royal Mail delivery targets, starts pricing review

MEDIA regulator Ofcom has set new minimum delivery standards for Royal Mail and revised existing targets in an effort to reduce delays. It also announced a review into pricing and affordability, amid concerns over rising stamp prices.

Royal Mail, which has faced fines of around $20 million over the past two years for not meeting delivery targets, is currently trying to modernise operations and focus more on parcel deliveries.

Keep ReadingShow less