There's a new bookshop around the corner

There's a new bookshop around the corner

Explore this new treasure trove of books on Church Street. The entire bookstore is like a shop window, here. And if you don't want to buy, you can just borrow, writes Gurudarshan Somayaji

Gurudarshan Somayaji



The space might be tiny, at just 240 sq ft, but the intent is big. Drawing on his experiences as an avid book reader and buyer, 32-year-old Ravi Menezes will be the latest entrant on Church Street, with Goobe Book Republic — a book store and a circulating library combined into one. While titles are already on sale, the library model will start in a week's time on, April 24.
Located in a basement, the setting immediately catches your eye — the entire store is like a shop window. Menezes, also the owner of Church Street Inn, a bed and breakfast (B&B), doesn't look like a conventional businessman, what with his dreadlocks and a long beard. But start a conversation with him and you get confirmation again about how deceptive looks can be.
Menezes is intensely serious about this new venture. "Over the past three years, I started adding books to our library and it reached such a stage where there were too many books and the actual readership for these books was limited — mainly catering to the guests staying at the inn," he says. "Since I had the additional space and wanted to put the books to good use, the next logical extension was to open a book store."
The store has been christened Goobe which, in Kannada, means owl. "Literally, it means an owl, which is supposed to be an intelligent bird. Figuratively, it means a fool; and in this case, a fool for books," he laughs. Also, since the owl is a nocturnal bird, the store will remain open till 10pm, which he claims is well past the business hours of a book store.
Menezes explains why the book store had to double up as a circulating library. "The basic idea is to make reading affordable, primarily because a lot of titles are expensive. Being a reader myself, it was a hard decision to make when prices were Rs500 and upwards," he says.
The library model is affordable. Members will have, on an average, two weeks to read a book. Further, if a customer really likes a book, he can buy it at a discounted price, provided that particular title is replaceable. Though this store is less than a month old, every inch of available space is filled with books across genres. A sizeable selection reflects Menezes' personal favourite, read spirituality and philosophy.
Despite the number of book stores in and around Church Street, Menezes is optimistic about Goobe Book Republic. "In this area, a lot of people come to shop for books and it is unfortunate that Premier book store closed, but there is still a floating population that comes here for many reasons and buying books happens to be one of them. We haven't reached a stage where buying books is dead," he says.
As the interview comes to a close, Menezes points to the overcrowded book shelf in the middle of the store and lets us in on a secret: "You see this bookshelf; it was Premier's main book shelf which is over 30 years old. The energy of that should hold us good."