Browsing the dream: why I paid £400 to run a bookshop for a week | Booksellers - The Guardian

Taking temporary charge of The Open Book, a secondhand bookshop in Wigtown, fulfilled a long-held wish – although I probably bought more books than I sold, according to Freya Parr, Editorial Assistant at BBC Music Mag.

People always want Dickens’ … The Open Book in Wigtown.
Photo: Colin Tennant

You’d be hard pressed to find a writer or book lover who doesn’t harbour a secret dream of running a bookshop, preferably in a serene, coastal location. This week, I had the pleasure of doing just that, and became the short-term proprietor of The Open Book, a secondhand bookshop in Wigtown, a rural seaside town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

For just £400, two people can rent the flat above the shop on Airbnb for a week, running the shop in whatever way they see fit. I’m clearly not the only one for whom this is a lifelong dream – The Open Book is currently booked out until 2023, but I got lucky with a last-minute cancellation.

So, on an icy Monday morning, my boyfriend and I hastily booked a rental car – public transport to Wigtown is practically impossible, thanks to its remote location – and started the long drive north. The harsh winds and icy rain hit us the minute we arrived...

Our time in the bookshop was not an economic triumph. We probably bought more books than we sold, but it didn’t matter. For me, as for so many others, the idea has been a long-held retirement plan. With high streets in ever increasing trouble, that plan has become more of a ridiculous dream. To be able to live it for a week was an undiluted pleasure, reminding me yet again of the need for bookshops in local communities. I feel like I left a part of myself in Wigtown and am already counting down the days until my next visit … even if I have to wait until 2023.
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Source: The Guardian