Black Gull bookshop - my new job.

 

RTomens, 2021

I have a new job, three days a week at Black Gull bookshop, Camden Market. Just when, post-Covid redundancy and having crawled into my sixties, I thought I was heading for the 'unemployable' heap, I was saved by Chris, the owner. We've known him since doing the market in the early-90s but I didn't expect him to say 'I have' when I asked if there were any job vacancies. Now I'm a bookseller. 

I know a bit about books; they're sheets of paper bound together, with words printed on them. You can hold them in your hands and turn the pages. People have been doing that for centuries. Amazingly, people still want to do it instead of reading everything on their phones, tablets or Kindles (spit). I was amazed, at least, to discover that people were willing to come into the shop and part with their cash ("Cash or card?") in exchange for slightly soiled second-hand books with well-creased spines. No, they're not all in that condition. My point being that despite having bought many second-hand books myself it still surprised me how many people did the same. Like the vinyl revival, it seems books are also 'in' with the young generation. I say this because the majority of buyers are young, under 30 anyway. 

I've shopped in Black Gull myself over the decades, but never dreamt I'd work there. One of its major selling points, great stock aside, is its 'character'. It oozes history and is packed with oddities, such as these masks...

It has an atmosphere which can't be created overnight. I'm all for new, indie bookshops, but Black Gull is old-school in the very best sense. I'm still discovering things on the walls which I had never noticed before. There's dust in the corners, under shelves and on books which have been sitting under the shelves for years. During quiet spells I've done some cleaning up but fear that removing too much dirt might actually cause the place to collapse! Somehow, the dusty parts have become part of the fabric. That said, I'm still determined to do some cleaning, even though it feels like I'm contravening an unspoken rule (ha-ha).

I've witnessed girls enter the shop, cooing and squealing with delight at the sight and smell of so many books. Some come in just to pose, actually half-pulling a book from the shelf whilst their friend snaps that 'cool' shot for their Instagram 'story'. Others just pose in front of books for the same reason. It's OK with me!

Without wishing to sound too pretentious, I feel there's something...special...about bookselling. It's a...soulful(?)...experience. I hand over bundles of entertainment, knowledge, enlightenment or plain thrills to customers. In my short time there I've already been asked for recommendations a few times. Not for any particular genre, just a book! Twice I've had to rise to the challenge for girls who have 'got back into reading'. Here's the case of one who hadn't read a book for seven years:

She was with a friend, both in their early-20s. The friend was amused by her friend's predicament. "How about crime?" She said. I took them to the Crime section and pulled out three Patricia Highsmiths. Not really taken with them.

"How about romance?" She said.

"That's a broad category," I replied with a smile. DH Lawrence sprang to mind so I handed her one.

"Nothing too old," she said. "Or comedy?"

JP Donleavy happened to be nearby but I felt his creative prose might be a bit too clever. I tried anyway. No, he was rejected.

"Science?" She said. By now we were all laughing a lot. Her friend laughing at her, her laughing at herself and me laughing at both of them. We go to the Science section, by which time I thought I'd done as much as I could and left them to it in case anyone wanted serving. Ten minutes later she came to the counter with Darwin's Theory of Evolution, saying with a smile that she was, or had been, studying biology. So there you go! 

Some people wander into the shop as if by accident, realise what kind of shop they're in (not having noticed all the books outside?) and wander out again without pausing. 

I've learnt to never judge a person by their 'cover'. Like most people I used to think that types would conform to reading stereotypes, if you get my meaning. Whilst we all conform to type in certain ways, I've been surprised at who buys what. I quickly learnt that regardless of sex, age, race or attire, people could be into anything. A young boy comes in with his father and another middle-aged man. Dad asks where the Music section is and I point the way. Next I'm amazed to hear Dad reassuring the boy that there must be a book on Motown. I can't help saying he had very advanced taste. "Yeah," Dad replies. "For a nine-year-old he's got good taste." Nine? Nine! I put it down to the internet. Even so, into Motown at nine. The boy eventually hauls a huge hardback (almost as big as him) on Diana Ross to the counter where Dad takes it from him because he can't quite reach. Amazing.

I'll be telling more tales from the bookshop for as long as I'm there. Meanwhile, here are some photos I took this week. On a beautiful morning, the canal is a glorious sight as I cycle onto the towpath near Camden Lock...

Note the Sex, Drugs, Rock'n'Roll section...

TTFN!