Xinmin Quick Comment | how there are no books in the standard of "net red bookstores"

In the past few days, several news related to bookstores have touched the hearts of many citizens. The Fuzhou Road store of Shanghai Book City, which has accompanied Shanghai citizens for 23 years and "seen big from childhood", pressed the "pause button" to begin a renovation and transformation that lasted more than a year, and many citizens rushed to say goodbye.

Pictured: Shanghai Book City Fuzhou Road Store Presses the "Pause Button" Xinmin Evening News reporter Wang Kai /photo

Shanghai Book City is just a small farewell, and we will see you again. What is even more lamentable is that after 22 years of "hidden in the city", Fudan Used Bookstore officially closed last weekend in the reluctance of many book lovers. Whether the new store will reopen, the address and time are still unknown. Leaving the small shop that had been in business for many years, the owner sighed and rubbed the signature manual left by the old professors, which was filled with too many warm memories. What is the fate of more than 50,000 "treasure old books", book friends can only say a blessing, looking forward to seeing each other again.

Over the years, there seem to be more bookstores around me, and it seems that something is missing. Whenever there are newly completed shopping malls and complexes, the "net red bookstore" with high appearance value often becomes the standard. In a newly opened high-end mixed-use shopping mall, a chain of well-known bookstores became an important "attraction" among them. In the spacious bookstore that cannot be seen at a glance, the first thing that catches the eye is not books, but a variety of exquisite cultural and creative products, high-end cosmetics, and the books placed have become "supporting roles". What you encounter in the corner is not a book, but often a posing "little sister", holding a beautifully bound book, with a "background wall" on the bookshelf; it is conceivable that the circle of friends will be a piece of praise, attracting the next batch of "punch card" to come. I wanted to find a corner to take a book quietly, looking around, everywhere was crowded, so I had to "tour" and leave in a hurry.

In his novel Winter Night walker, Calvino once described the excitement of immersing himself in the bookstore, "Here are books you haven't read... The books you know how many times you can live, you might read... It's a pity you only have one life. Lewis Boozby wrote in The Lights of the Bookstore: "I can't sustain myself when I get to the bookstore... Since the bookstore first touched my heart 30 years ago, as a customer, employee, sales representative or tourist, I have been to thousands of bookstores, each of which exudes its joy without restraint. ”

Today, when online reading is within reach, the shrinking of bookstores seems to be the trend of the times. Last year, more than 1,000 bookstores across the country closed in regret. The popularity of "net red bookstores" is nothing less than a gospel for the cultivation of public reading habits. But in bookstores, "books" are still the protagonists of eternity. Bookstores connect us to others, yet are independent of each other. Listen to the voices of your sympathizers in a corner of the bookstore and enjoy your solitude in the crowd. No matter how big and crowded the city is, there is always a bookstore light to light up for you, which is a good feeling.

Song Ninghua/Wen