The town's first independent bookstore in 30 years has been opened by a 76-year-old man in an effort to "fill a niche.".
In Royston, Hertfordshire, Paul Bowes began organizing Bow Books six months ago. At the time, he was semi-retired.
Like so many of us in recent years, he lamented the dearth of bookshops.
"In Royston, nothing had been done about it for 30 years, so I reasoned that since I was sitting there, perhaps I ought to take action. ".
The last independent bookstore in the town, according to Mr. Bowes of Barkway, was Manor Books, which occupied the space directly across from his new store on Angel Pavement before closing in the early 1990s.
With the competition from online retailers and e-books growing, he said he hoped his project would give people the "chance to browse and handle a wide range of books" locally.
The return of an independent bookshop has apparently sparked great excitement in the community, he said.
The experience of reading a book and visiting a bookstore to find one is very different from reading on a screen.
"Books are not only used for studying. but something to truly savor, touch, open, and feel before sharing the contents with one another. ".
Mr. Bowes claimed that because he had "worked in books all his life," he had the knowledge and connections.
Before opening his own store, the Book Castle, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, for 25 years, he had previously worked for W H Smiths and the publisher Collins.
In the two-story Royston store, there are both new and used books, "a blend that I hope should work in this day and age," said Mr. Bowes.
An events space has been created on the first floor that is modeled after a living room.
Although they can no longer function as the traditional retailers they once did, he claimed that bookstores have always served as a sort of community center.
Retirement was not on Mr. Bowes' mind, he continued.
As long as I live, it will continue, he declared.
