Describing the development as "another chapter in the story of one of the most acclaimed garden centers in Ireland," the Irish Times reported that Arboretum Urban Green has opened an expansive urban garden center in the Chapters bookshop on Parnell Street in Dublin. Arboretum's co-owners Barry Doyle and Fergal Doyle "hope the union of books and plants proves a match made in heaven and are confident they will be able to entice many urban dwellers through the doors with the promise of food and coffee as well as a wide array of indoor plants, furniture and all manner of accoutrements for a city center apartment balcony."
Arboretum Urban Green occupies some 14,000 square feet on the first floor of Chapters, which reopened last year under new owners after closing briefly to great public dismay. It will also offer an all-day dining menu at its 60-seat cafe.
Chapters CEO Mick Finucane said the bookshop was "about what is important in life and how to make living worthwhile and joyful," and he could be "flippant and joke about books, plants and cake, but what they all represent--looking after our minds and having nature present in our physical environment, stopping for a coffee to just sit and savor the moment--these are the small things that make life worthwhile."
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Waterstones has announced three promotions. The Bookseller reported that Bea Carvalho, who was appointed general fiction buyer at the company in 2018, has been promoted to head of books; Tom Patterson will become head of buying; and, after many years as head of children's, Florentyna Martin will be head of e-commerce commercial.
Waterstones COO Kate Skipper said the promotions will "create a more cohesive approach, bringing together support across all teams to generate aligned and successful key title campaigns."
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In China, Jiang Libo spent 800,000 yuan (about $116,000) to build Milestone Bookstore, which is located in a remote village on top of a mountain in a rural area of Zhejiang province in eastern China. The bookshop has captivated mainland social media after a video of the store was posted online, South China Morning Post reported. The bookstore is built in the shape of the number seven and has a collection of 7,000 mostly literary books.
Despite the remote location, people still come out of curiosity and a love of reading. Jiang "is a self-styled poet who spent his money building the store over the past three years. He hopes to offer the local villagers, especially children, improved book access," the Morning Post wrote.
"Before my bookshop was built, the closest bookshop or library to this village was in a town about 30 km [18.6 miles] away," Jiang said. "I found fewer and fewer people read books, and bookstores generally are struggling. However, I acted in contravention of this by opening a bookstore in a place with very few readers. My thought is: when villagers are idle, or kids are on holiday, they can come to read books. Isn't that wonderful?"
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South African bookstore Soweto Book Café in Johannesburg was showcased by 2Summers. The bookshop was founded by Thami Mazibuko in 2018, "a couple of years after he moved back to Zondi from downtown Joburg and realized he and his neighbors desperately needed a place to access books. Books are expensive and hard to come by in South Africa, as are libraries and locally owned bookstores (or any bookstores)--especially in townships." --Robert Gray