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KIERAN: So Jane – you’ll be off to Denmark soon to do your work placement.
JANE: Yes, I’m really looking forward to it and I’ve just started packing up all my books to put in storage.
KIERAN: Well, I hope they don’t get spoilt.
JANE: It’s OK – my grandfather works in a bookshop and he told me how to pack them.
KIERAN: Oh, that’s helpful.
JANE: He says you have to support the spine otherwise the paper can come away from the cover. Q21
KIERAN: Yeah – that’s obvious.
JANE: He also told me to pack them flat in the box not on their side – again because they can bend and if you leave them like that for, say, a year, it’s quite hard to get them back to their normal shape.
KIERAN: Well, it’s pretty clear that ruins them, but a lot of people just can’t be bothered to protect their books.
JANE: He always says it’s such a shame that publishers don’t use better-quality paper.
KIERAN: It’s the acid in the paper that causes the problem, isn’t it?
JANE: Yeah – that’s why old books go yellow. You know some of the books my grandfather’s given me are like that already.
KIERAN: Oh . . .
JANE: I should dump them really if they’re going to deteriorate further, but I’d feel bad. They’ll always remind me of him. He’s quite a collector, you know. Q22
KIERAN: Well, if they’re important to you . . .
JANE: Yeah – I’d regret just throwing them away.
KIERAN: You know, maybe it’s because I was taught to treasure books . . . but I hate seeing students force open the pages – of paperbacks. They press so hard they end up breaking the spine.
JANE: I know, but unfortunately, paperbacks aren’t designed to last a long time and people know that. Hardbacks aren’t quite as weak.
KIERAN: Yeah, they’re different, I suppose. But I still don’t think people value hardbacks like they used to.
JANE: Well, they aren’t decorative, are they, like other objects. Plus, nowadays, people don’t keep them out on shelves as much as they used to.
KIERAN: That’s such a pity. When I visit someone – if they have, say, a colorful book on a table, it’s the first thing I’m drawn to. Q23
JANE: I agree – and book covers can be a work of art in themselves. Some are really eye-catching.
KIERAN: I’ve always been taught to handle books carefully. If you watch someone take a book off a shelf, well, they usually do it wrong.
JANE: Ah, my grandfather says, you should put your hand right over the top of the book . . . or if you can’t do that, pull the other books on the shelf aside so that you can hold the whole cover.
KIERAN: When did you learn all this?
JANE: He watched me pull a heavy book off the shelf when I was small, and it fell on the floor and broke apart. Q24
KIERAN: Oh dear!
KIERAN: I can still remember it!
JANE: You know what I really like?
KIERAN: What?
JANE: The smell of new books.
KIERAN: Me too.
JANE: My parents used to laugh at me when I was a kid because I loved putting books up to my nose. Almost as much as reading them!
KIERAN: New books aren’t cheap, though, are they? Q25
JANE: I guess we’re lucky we can buy them.
KIERAN: My grandfather stocks second-hand books as well as new ones and they don’t smell quite as good.
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KIERAN: I’d love to have a bookshop like your grandfather. What’s it like?
JANE: Well, it’s quite big – it’s got two floors and an attic, and he stocks all kinds of books really.
KIERAN: I guess he treasures things like first editions and other rare books.
JANE: Yeah – you might think he’d keep those in the attic or somewhere.
KIERAN: . . . so they’d be hidden?
JANE: Yeah. But he likes people to know that he has them. So, he puts them out in the shop but makes sure you need a ladder to get them. Q26
KIERAN: Right. That would prevent any thefts!
JANE: Uhuh.
KIERAN: Does he stock books for children?
JANE: He does. He particularly likes to encourage kids to read; he always says that he used to sit under the stairs as a child with a pile of books and read them all.
KIERAN: Is that where he keeps them, then?
JANE: Not exactly – he’s got a dedicated area on the ground floor with cushions so that parents can enter with their toddlers, go there and spend some time reading to them. Q27
KIERAN: Oh cool.
JANE: And then there’s a place for pushchairs by the front door. And a café if anyone needs refreshments.
KIERAN: That’s good to know.
JANE: As I said, it’s a big shop and there’s a storage area out the back as well.
KIERAN: Oh, what does he keep there? Books he wants to throw away?
JANE: He hardly ever throws anything away – he just leaves unwanted books by the front door for customers to take. Q28
KIERAN: Well, that’s very nice.
JANE: Yeah – and books people or institutions have requested, they all go at the far end. Q29
KIERAN: Oh.
JANE: He thinks it’s best to keep these out of the main shopping area as they’re boxed and new.
KIERAN: Did you get your coursebooks from him?
JANE: Naturally. He stocks books for a lot of the colleges. He used to keep these books on the first floor, but now there’s a new university in my hometown, he’s moved them downstairs to attract the students. They’re actually part of the coffee shop, on low shelves all around it. Q30
KIERAN: Pretty central then. You’ll have to take me there some time!
