Support independent bookstores

Lost Books in Cebu is the smallest bookstore in the country. You will not believe me if I told you that Lost Books is located inside a repurposed ATM kiosk. However, to see is to believe. A few weeks ago, I offered to do a book signing at Lost Books and was surprised by the turnout. Since the bookstore was so small, I requested that a table be placed by the entrance for the meet and greet. It was a cool Sunday afternoon, the long line of readers on the sidewalk of Osmeña Avenue didn’t block any of the nearby establishments. It was dark when I looked up at the last person in line close to four hours later.

Every major city should have an independent bookstore. Offhand, I know of three that deserve our support: Mt. Cloud Bookshop in Baguio, Savage Mind in Naga, and Lost Books in Cebu. Of course, there is the iconic Solidaridad bookstore in Ermita, Manila that has yet to reinvent itself after changing hands from the heirs of the late National Artist F. Sionil Jose to Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste. Independent bookstores are not just retail outlets, they rise to become, like Savage Mind in Naga, the beating cultural heart of the city.

As part of their corporate social responsibility, some SM malls have reading nooks where people can choose to read rather than shop. In the rat race that is Metro Manila, finding a quiet place can be a challenge. Makati has a number of reader friendly spaces. At One Ayala Mall and Transport Hub, part of the activity or pickleball area turned into “The Stacks,” a two-level reading space. Unfortunately, this was a short-term pop-up nipped in the bud. More permanent and free is the pop-up library in the Ayala Triangle where one can read for free or exchange a book. I am tempted to place some of my books there to see if they will be read or taken home.

There are two real libraries that charge an annual fee for access: the Filipinas Heritage Library in the Ayala Museum (for Filipiniana and Original Pilipino Music) and the Union Church of Manila in Legaspi Village (General Reference). For foreign language books, you can check out the Instituto Cervantes Library in Enterprise Center on Ayala Avenue and the Goethe-Institut Philippinen in the Adamson Centre, Leviste Street, Salcedo Village, the same building that houses a little-known, gilded, St. George Greek Orthodox Chapel. Elsewhere, there is the National Library of the Philippines on T.M. Kalaw (Barangay 666, Manila!) where you can read for free. The fabled Lopez Museum and Library is soon to open in Rockwell, Makati, but the collection can be consulted, by appointment, in a storage facility in Cubao. Finally, you have the university libraries: University of the Philippines Diliman, Ateneo de Manila University, and De La Salle University.

One of my unfulfilled dreams is to own or run an independent bookshop. I offered to buy Solidaridad in F. Sionil Jose’s lifetime not once but twice. My only condition being that the building be leased to me at a friendly rate. At the time, Jose said his children would and could manage Solidaridad after his death. In hindsight, Solidaridad was “the” independent bookstore of record in the Philippines not because of the stock, but for F. Sionil Jose and the events and meetings that were held there, like that of Philippine P.E.N. It was in Frankie’s bookstore that a young aspiring writer like myself was introduced to senior ones like Nick Joaquin and Alejandro R. Roces. To keep Solidaridad going, the challenge was having someone like Frankie Jose in residence, to attract readers and buyers. I was crazy to presume I was it.

Rumor has it that Solidaridad was bought for less than the original P35 million asking price. The Tsinoy in me did the math, and the plan. If I bought lot, building, and bookshop, I would: tear down the existing building and build a new five or six-story building, lease out the ground floor to a bank to have regular cash for operating expenses of the bookstore that would be on the second or third floor. A coffee shop would keep people hydrated. With a liquor license the coffee shop will sell cocktails to keep readers streaming in till midnight. Problem with this plan is that heritage activists will oppose the new building and insist on keeping Solidaridad in its original state from the 1950s. That would be like an animal stuffed by a taxidermist or items preserved in bell jars of formaldehyde. How to keep the balance between nostalgia and being relevant to the times?

My dream of running an independent bookstore was revived when I saw Lost Books Cebu built in an old ATM kiosk. I am continually inspired by the success of Savage Mind in Naga and Mt. Cloud in Baguio. To run a successful independent bookstore means I have to be hands-on, literally, that means my wanderlust will be severely constrained. Books and reading remain integral parts of my life, so if I cannot own or run an independent bookstore, I can support those that are already there. I have access to libraries, both physical and digital, that have more than I can humanly read and digest in my lifetime, for the moment that should suffice.

—————-