35 of the best independent bookshops in Ireland | Books - The Irish Times

In the age of ebooks, these booksellers are proving print is still preferred, according to Jennifer O’Connell, feature writer with The Irish Times.

The Book Centre, Waterford.
Photo: Jennifer O'Connell

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. The digital revolution was going to kill off physical books and bookshops altogether.

It’s true that between roughly 2010 and 2015 the picture for booksellers was unrelentingly grim. Sales of ereaders and ebooks were soaring, as the trade in physical books plummeted. According to the Booksellers Association of Ireland, industry turnover declined by almost 30 per cent in those years.

But books and publishing have been around since they came along to disrupt the manuscripts industry in the 15th century, and they weren’t about to be written off. Publishers responded by making book covers more sumptuous than ever. Independent bookshops did their part, grasping that if they were to compete with Amazon, the act of buying a book had to be more than just a commercial transaction. They opened coffee bars, created book groups and made sure their staff could provide knowledgeable recommendations...

Here are 35 of Ireland’s best indies, and a few honourable mentions. 

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Source: The Irish Times