Little bookstores constitute an integral part of our culture and our local communities. It’s the place where writers can connect with readers, where we discover new, unknown worlds, where children are captivated by the thrill of reading that can last a lifetime. They are the places that never stop inspiring us, uniting us and spreading the love for books.

Reading Greece* spoke to Penny Moschogianni, owner of Penny Lane Bookshop, a little bookstore in Nea Smyrni, Athens, about the role of little bookstores and their influence on reading preferences, as well as the challenges they are faced with and the prospects ahead.

Penny Lane is a little bookstore which recently opened its gates in Nea Smyrni. What’s the story behind this venture of yours?

Penny Lane Bookshop has been a dream of many years. After 25 years of experience in the book industry working in bookstores and publishing houses, the time had come to create my own space. Even when everything seemed impossible, I never gave up on that dream!

What kind of books can readers find in your bookstores?

In my bookstore readers can find prose, both modern and classical, poetry, essays, children’s books for all ages, psychology and self-improvement books, philosophy, history, politics and economics. My intention is to further enrich this catalogue so that I can entice the most demanding reader!

How important is the role of bookstores in fostering love for reading?

The role of bookstores in fostering love for reading is pivotal. In my bookshop at least, books are primarily a cultural product and secondarily a commercial one. A bookstore is a hangout, a meeting place, a place where events, nice and productive talks take place. Even to stand in the window just for a while is a gift you can offer yourself.

Which are the main challenges little bookstores face nowadays? How do you respond to these challenges? What about the prospects ahead?

Little bookstores have to compete vigorously with department stores, which of course offer a greater number of titles. They also have to compete with the bigger discounts these stores offer as they buy cheaper from the publishers and thus are able to do so. If we also consider the small percentage of loyal readers then you understand that it is a difficult journey, full of challenges. But, on the other hand, a little bookstore has its own ”weapons” to deal with all these situations. It is anthropocentric. So, the bookseller has to recognize the demands of the times, accept them and adapt them based on his/her own expectations. You know very well that it only takes one person to make a difference. The public is beginning to crave that again. So, it is no coincidence that against the odds more and more little bookstores are opening.

Would you say that the recent socio-economic crisis and the pandemic that followed has broken the ties connecting part of the readers with the choices and orientation of traditional publishers, creating an aesthetic and intellectual space that may certainly grow?

The socio-economic crisis combined with the advent of the pandemic have changed people’s behaviour and aesthetics to a great extent. I have the impression that part of the reading public, after having gone through tremendous changes in their daily lives, felt free to orientate themselves in a spiritual space that can and must constantly evolve.

In the era of online communication, how have the social media influenced what people choose to read? How have reading preferences changed/evolved during the years?

My impression after discussing with my clients is that social media influences the choices of a younger readership, which is normal if you consider that a young person of say 20-25 years old has hardly lived without social media. However, the percentage even at these ages is not particularly high. I’m always talking about people visiting a little bookstore. The percentage of people reading non-fiction is increasing over literature. Readers are turning to philosophy, politics but especially history. I feel there is a huge need to know how we got here, I mean in an admittedly difficult almost hostile era. It is no coincidence that the bestseller of the year is a history book called Οι Δωσίλογοι [The Collaborators] by historian Menelaos Charalambidis from Alexandria Publications.

Finally, let me say that in the course of my professional career, it is the children’s book that keeps gaining more and more ground and that is not only comforting it is simply wonderful!

*Ιnterview by Athina Rossoglou

TAGS: LITERATURE & BOOKS | READING GREECE