The V3 Column

Bookshop coffee stop

Shaz, Ruwi and Sachi

If every coffee shop had a bookshop, it would be a great benefit for those frequenting the place. Whether it is to catch up on the latest ‘affairs’ around the world or scenes of a sensual nature, the coffee-book combination makes up a simply irresistible hotspot for all.

Whenever heading out for cozy get-togethers, V3 can’t help taking a peek into the store to see what kind of new items had joined the collection. Though the store is small, you can see it packed with volumes upon volumes of books of almost any topic imaginable. There’s something for everyone!

“We are like the beach, men are the waves. They invade, erode, smash us and precede as if nothing had happened,” reads Sachi out of a novel about women while Ruwi makes a beeline to her favourite historical novels by Jean Plaidy, Philippa Gregory and Georgette Heyer. Shaz browses the books on the shelf nearby and comes up with a book called ‘Human Body’ and begins to leaf through and the pages which have brilliant pop ups.

Meanwhile Sachi has made a glorious discovery - a Ken Follett novel with 1237 pages at only Rs. 600. “This is a bargain!” he exclaims excitedly before remembering he has only about Rs. 150 in his pocket! Things do not help when he stumbles on another novel of his interest at an eligible price and adds to his ‘simply must buy’ list.

Moving on from the foreign stuff it was interesting to see a few shelves offering Sri Lankan English writing. V3 spent more than a couple of minutes there but could not help feeling the impatient stares from the cashier.

Shaz and Ruwi finally get the message and try to make their way to the exit but Sachi spots the erotic section by accident and makes an attempt to glance through books like ‘Super Hot Sex’, ‘Sex Q & A’ and ‘Beyond Kama Sutra’.

Ruwi and Shaz are also attracted to the erotic spot and they linger on. However they spot the bookshop cashier again peeping from the counter to see if the gang is really buying anything. It has been a common habit for the cashiers to have this ‘look’ like being irritated when people do not seem to be buying anything.

V3 whisper in a corner, “My gosh! These cashiers are rather like Peeping Toms but we have to make a worthwhile decision before buying anything.” Sachi says, “Dash it all! Once I asked about a book on Tutankhamun and the bookshop assistants took it as the author’s name!”.

He went on mentioning that it’s impossible to put scholars as bookshop cashiers but still some of them do not have the faintest clue about the books in their possession.

Shaz says, “I mean a book is a lifetime investment and you should take your own time to have a close look at the author’s perception to decide on whether it’s really for you.” Ruwi agrees: “It’s not something you buy everyday or it’s just not another essential item off the shelf.”

The topic then shifts to Sri Lankan authors and the reason why their books aren’t in demand. The main reason for this is that with people like cashiers who want to chase us out, people have no time to delve on a Sri Lankan author’s style to make a decision to buy it.

More often than not, they have no identity and their books gather dust on the shelves. “Sometimes we see rows of the same book and people aren’t interested because of old-fashioned English and ‘Sing-lish’ is so last year.” said Shaz.

“Yes people like to read interesting subjects like erotica,” adds Sachi with a grin. Ruwi contemplates and gives her opinion, “Some Sri Lankan authors don’t cater to the English readership, they try to copy the Sinhala style to English and add funny names to the characters. Some are so irritating to pronounce”.

“There should be reading sessions in bookstores as those arouse curiosity and lure readers to buy books. The British Council holds reading sessions. This is good but it should be the habit of all leading bookstores too,” Sachi noted while Ruwi went on to add that some bookstores in foreign countries provide a homely atmosphere with snug chairs and tables for the customers to pick a book of their choice leisurely.

“Oooh, look!,” Shaz nudges Ruwi suddenly directing her eyes to the end of the store. “Look at what she is buying...” she mouths. A lady in her mid-thirties had a huge book in her arms. ‘Daily News Red Letter Days: Limited Edition’ flashed across the cover as she laid it on the counter next to the cashier. Delighted and full of smiles, V3 made their exit.

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