The Aardvark Blog

Who would have known it - books are back in fashion
4/02/2017

Perhaps I should have guessed when I was asked on to BBC Hereford and Worcester to discuss whether books are in decline and will disappear within our lifetime, but apparently books are now mucho back in fashion, Waterstones are back in profit and  the country is poised for a wave of new independent bookshop openings. Good old BBC H & W always able to spot last year's trend, just as it is going out of fashion.

Still it seems kind of crazy not to be the only person defending how fantastic physical books are. I am so used to the endless discussions which start with 'I've just bought a K***E and I've junked my whole library and will never buy another book again, that I have been slow to realise that books are now trendy. Just as records have seen sales jump 15X in the last 15 years, so books are now one of the most sought after products, Hereford's trendiest new restaurant is called 'The Bookshop'; books recorded the highest sales growth last Christmas. Just watch out, the male heroes of Rom Coms will go back to being booksellers, after all those pesky years have having sand in our faces by architects, lawyers and firemen.

Jim Hawkins the wise sage of BBC Shropshire is right on trend, and so it was that he came down to Aardvark to record a long interview with me that was broadcast in two parts on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. Apologies to any-one whose mid-morning enjoyment of a chocolate hobnob was spoiled by my burblings. Jim is a truly book lover, and after the recording finished he spent a happy hour in  the shop perusing the shelves and talking to the staff.

After a couple of really awful days, the sun is now shining and the countryside around Aardvark is back to looking its verdant best. We are truly blest to live in this part of the world, and I should add that we are only an 1 1/2 from Birmingham and the West Midlands. Why not abandon the rat race for a day and come out to explore a different world on your doorstep. And you could even pick up a book or two, and make sure that you are on trend for 2017!