THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 75-years-old iconic book store chain Higginbothams on MG Road has suspended sales in the city, upsetting book lovers. The popularity of audiobooks, ebooks and online commercial platforms has adversely impacted traditional book stores with many shutting shop, especially after the pandemic.
Higginbothams was one of the stores that popularised the concept of a retail general bookstore in Kerala. For year’s it remained the preferred spot for booklovers to get their hands on the latest paperbacks by their favourite authors.
“We used to go there with friends and spend time there. I was disheartened when I heard about its closure. Just like the shutting down of the British Library, this too has come as a shock,” says Sukesh R Pillai, founder of Books and Beyond.
Many feel that the iconic book store had to be shut down because it failed to adapt to the changes in the industry. “In the 80s, it was the only bookstore in Thiruvananthapuram. Many sold educational books but not literature. It was the only bookshop that had literary fiction from international publishers. Gradually the book market witnessed many changes but Higginbothams failed to adapt. They gradually lost their space in the industry,” said Sudheer N E, who has been in the book industry for 35 years.
According to Sukesh, it is high time that the concept of bookstores is changed. “Now e-books are available everywhere. Some are even free online. Many online stores offer high discounts also. This is one of the main reasons for the lack of business at bookstores. Selling books alone will not help revive bookstores. They should offer a space for reading at stores and allow students to come and refer to the books for research. Add on features like book clubs, celebrity talks etc would help woo readers back to bookstores,” says Sukesh.
Temporary shutdown
According to the staff of Higginbotham’s, the shut down might be temporary. “We have temporarily suspended sales. This doesn’t mean the store will not reopen. It’s their building and they might have plans to revive and reopen Higginbotham’s soon,” said R Neelakantan, a staff member.