As customers self-isolate, independent bookshops are set to take a hit – but many are offering storytime streams, discounts and even phone calls for the lonely
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The booksellers at Burley Fisher Books in Haggerston are expecting their bikes to get a lot of use over the coming weeks. On Friday, they encouraged anyone self-isolating and in need of a new book to tell them the last book they read and enjoyed. If the customer was intrigued by their suggestion, they could buy it online and the booksellers would hand deliver it to anywhere in the London borough of Hackney. They were not anticipating more than 1,000 retweets and hundreds of requests for recommendations.
“Lots of people were saying they’d just read Girl, Woman, Other, so we were recommending Nudibranch by Irenosen Okojie for that. It was mostly fiction – people will be looking for big stories when they’re self-isolating, things to take them out of the home they can’t leave,” said co-owner Sam Fisher. “It was difficult to know the etiquette when delivering – should we knock on the door, leave it on the doorstep? But it was nice to be bringing the shop out into the community and we’ve got a lot of support. If it keeps up, we’ll all be very fit.”
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