After finding PAGEONE, I felt unsatisfied and was still searching for something less commercial. On my way to the Hong Kong Central Library, I stumbled upon a shop called, as Murphy would have it, the Commercial Press. The entrance was too timid and, if I hadn’t seen a poster of a book, I wouldn’t even have noticed that it was indeed a bookshop.
Walking up the staircase, I found what seemed to be a version of Van Schaik, an academic bookshop back home. I ruffled through the English section and came upon a wonderful series of the most beautiful covers including Italo Calvino’s If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler and Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, which had definitely been selected by a well-read person. They were on special: take two, get the third one free.
I was thinking that the extra suitcase I wanted to buy to accommodate my shopping is in the end going to be filled only with books, and no clothes. But, when I looked around for a chair to sit in and go through my selection, I couldn’t find one. As I was pressed for time, I made up my mind to return to purchase my threesome. A week later, I am sad to report, they are not there anymore. I doubt that they were all sold and suspect they have been hidden or returned.
Next I found the Bookbuddy, an overstocked children’s bookshop that is everything a bookshop should not be. Only the spines of books face you from wall-to-wall shelves, overwhelming you with choice and leaving you uninspired. The shop evokes no passion for books and the pleasure of reading them - it might as well have been a section of Toys’R’us, judging by the selection of Disney titles and toys.
I almost ran, in spite of my blistered feet, towards the exit of the mall, in desperate need of fresh air and a fresh perspective on books.
In the TST region of Kowloon I found Swindon Books. As I walked towards it, I could see a group of people filling the sidewalk in front of the shop and thought for a second that I had found some students or book groupies congregated in front of their favorite book spot. Unfortunately my fantasy was short-lived as they were only the construction workers from the site across the bookshop taking a break.
Swindon also has a very academic interior, but contains many more general English books then academic titles. The shop is well stocked, with a great bargain section and the best travel section I have seen yet. Although it lacks atmosphere, which could be remedied with background music, I found one elusive chair where I sat and, as I stared at a V.S. Naipul to my right, felt comfortably at home in the bustling city.
I have come to realise that, as a book lover visiting Hong Kong, you will indeed be satisfied by what is on offer. However, as a bookshop lover, I am left wanting. But during the next few months that remain of my stay here, I will be on the lookout for the best places to read, while scouting for secondhand bookshops and everything else book-related that Hong Kong has on offer.
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