Vasudha Gulyam: E-commerce era book shopping and the joy of buying used books

A typical family owned bookstore - row upon dusty row of books, stacked in back to back shelves with just enough space for one to squeeze through them, a literary ocean beckoning the book lovers to explore its depths.

I have read many an article mourning the closure of such family owned bookstores across India with its knowledgeable owners who couldn't hold out against the competition from ridiculously discounted prices offered by e-commerce sites. This is not another eulogy about such bookstores. What sense does it make to go half way across town to buy books at MRP when the books can be ordered online with a great saving on the MRP?

Frankly, I have never liked going to fancy, brightly lit bookstores with their neatly arranged shelves of books with 'calculated' space between the shelves, taller wall shelves and shorter shelves in the space between to give a sense of the expanse of the shop in prime locality in the city. It feels like shopping for grocery and probably that's how these shops view their inventory. Not to forget, these shops offer discounts during festivals, like reading is a festival time activity.

Then there were these family owned bookstores - romanticised by so many well-written eulogies - tucked away discretely in small lanes, every inch of space made use of, walkways grudgingly left in between shelves, an ocean of books arranged in some order which wasn't always maintained and yet the owner had track of the books gone wayward. Horizontally kept books above the vertically arranged books, and layers of hidden books behind. Every book put there by the owner as one would in a personal collection. A treasure trove of old, out of print books even, books/authors long forgotten by the world hiding somewhere in some musty-dusty corner just waiting to be rediscovered. For those who loved to chat while looking for books, there was the erudite owner who knew the books in the shop like a gemologist would his stones. One could spend as much time as one liked in the shop without drawing any objection. I have been served coffee at the hour the owner and his couple of assistants partook the refreshment. These were the shops that stocked gem of expensive books made affordable by lesser known local publications with narrow profit margins without begrudging them the use of limited space. These shops definitely offered a good discount, especially to regular customers but were no match to the kind of discounts the e-commerce sites offered.

As ordering books online became the sensible thing to do, I was torn between the ease of ordering and the possibility of saving money on the one hand and the satisfying experience of buying books in a shop on the other. To me, buying books in a store is like watching a good movie or an hour with a good friend - has a rejuvenating effect. I was not the only one who faced this dilemma, majority of book readers did too and the e-commerce sites won hands down and the family-run bookstores lost out on the patronage of their regulars and many shut shop.

In this era of 'Innovate or Perish', the fancy, big bookstores diversified into stocking toys, gifts, stationery, some even electronic items. This was around the time that I discovered Blossom Book House in Bangalore. The book store which started in 2001 also stocks 'used' books. It was the perfect combination of low prices offered by e-com sites and the experience of buying books in a book store that I loved so much. I have spent innumerable hours wandering around the used books section, discovering new authors, unheard of titles of familiar authors, knocking off books while maneuvering in the limited space and discovering new genres. I sometimes get this feeling that some books have just been waiting for me. And the beauty of buying used books is, it comes with its own little story- signature with date of the previous owner, a short message of 'good wishes' if the book was gift, a comment here, a note there - all making the reading of the book more interesting and many a times it's made me wonder why the book, especially if it was a gift was given away.

At Blossom's, price of the books is surprising and the collection is just amazing. I have never stepped out of the shop without having picked up at least 6 months of reading worth of books. That place is a paradise and what's heartening is there are such bookstores coming up all across the country. The discerning book lover who used to go book hunting on footpaths for second-hand books is embracing this niche development with open arms.

And in case you are wondering if the selling and buying of used books is legal, let me assure you, it is, courtesy the doctrine of 'first sale' which is a bridge between the rights of the author of the book (under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957) and the rights of a buyer of the book over that copy of the book purchased (under the Transfer of Property Act, 1882). On purchasing a book, the author's rights are exhausted (as far as deriving revenue from further sales is concerned) for that particular copy of the book and the buyer can sell it and pocket the money.

As more such shops open across the country, it's a whole new world waiting to be explored.