Support Your Local Bookstore
In these troubled times, when we must isolate ourselves in our houses and do nothing, some people just cannot follow the recommendations of authorities and stay home. The reason is they need to work. Those are self-employed people, individual entrepreneurs, and small cooperatives.
We all know about the tough life of small business in our country, but the current situation makes things even more problematic, as the level of income decreases while the taxes and other financial obligations remain the same.
Such places like cafes, restaurants, fitness centers, or beauty shops are in real danger of bankruptcy and shutting down. One of these endangered organizations is a local independent bookstore. According to last year's statistics of the Russian Federal Agency for Press and Mass Media, there was a negative trend of buyers in the bookstores, which led to sales reduction, closure of stores and publishing houses. Imagine how deep these rates are diving right now, how bad the situation will be by the end of this year!
We believe that you have favorite places to eat or watch a movie, so why not choose a bookstore of your dream and make friends with it? The fact is there are some pleasant benefits of such friendship.
Firstly, and most importantly, lower prices. Independent bookstores don not spend much money on public advertisements, they do not rent large spaces and do not hire a lot of employees what lets them sell books cheaper than in big stores.
Secondly, such stores offer rare and old books, which you will not find anywhere else. Moreover, they sell the production of small publishing houses where beginner and not yet famous authors print.
Finally, the unique atmosphere of small stores is catchy. The staff is welcoming and helpful all the time and they see you as a guest or a friend, not just a buyer.
If you find these benefits attractive than you can search for the nearest store and visit it as soon as the quarantine is over. This website will help you to choose a store that fits you perfectly. For now, we offer you an opportunity to make your isolation more vivid and entertaining, on the one hand, and help those wonderful places survive the crisis of the pandemics: below we put a list of some stores that we know and want to recommend you. Three of the stores are in Moscow and one is in Saint-Petersburg. It is worth noticing that all the chosen stores offer delivery, so you can stay safe and entertained at home.
Where: Moscow, Tverskaya 17 (metro station Pushkinskaya)
The main bookstore for Moscow intellectuals. People come here not only to buy books but to chat or hang out also. It is possible to bump into your university professor searching for some staff or checking his new book is available there. Co-founder of the store Boris Kupriyanov is an editor at the literature portal “Gorky”. At “Falanster” the prices are lowest and new books appear there faster than anywhere.
Where: Moscow, Pokrovka 6
It is a small bookstore that looks like a garage sale of my uncle. It is kind of a cozy place, though the room is a little small. There you can find new or used books. Zine books are also available. The good news is they offer a 20% discount until the end of the week.
Where: Moscow, Kazarmennyy pereulok 4, building 3
Marshak is a bookstore for kids that is popular within adults, though. There you can buy very nice books with beautiful illustrations made by talented designers and artists, that is why adults find these books interesting. Moreover, there is a little amount of adult intellectual literature for parents.
Where: Saint-Petersburg, Liteinyy prospect 57
The oldest store on our list, as it has been selling books since 1926. The store offers a wide range of intellectual literature: classic and modern prose, books on philosophy, history, psychology, and so on. The interior of the store is nice and welcoming. As a special bonus, you can enjoy a cup of coffee inside.
We hope you get interested in making friends with local bookstores, as they offer you a little more than just a purchase of books. If you are not satisfied with the suggested stores, you can always choose other options, as there are a lot of them. To experience the best of those stores you have to wait a little bit, but the expectations totally worth it. However, you can begin your acquaintance with them via online orders.
Read books, be smart, and support your local store!
Text by
George Kolysh