Harringay online

Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

I've just had an email from them, which includes this sad message:

We are in urgent need of funds to pay our rent. We need to raise £2,200 in 5 days. If you can order books or attend events that would help. Or maybe support us through Patreon or Kofi. Every little helps us keep going and increasing the number of events we can offer the community. If we can’t pay the rent and close the area will lose: pre-schoolers’ group; 4 reading groups; writing group; repair café; music group; board game group; film & photography group; art club…

I'm going to the Comedy Club this evening - it's £6 (& bring your own wine/beer etc) tonight if you use mayhem as a discount code when you book

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Thank you.

It would be such a shame if the book shop and coummunity it supports closed.

It sounds like the book shop needs to do more to generate the funds they need. To get past this crisis what about a one off event to raise the funds.  

Thanks, Rebecca, for your kind words and that excellent suggestion.

They also need to review their costs, e.g. wages. This is an area that they can control.

It’s nice that they provide a space for these groups, but as a bookshop, it’s a bit odd.

They stock a worrying number of conspiracy-based books, including at least 2 COVID-denial and one anti-vax. It’s one thing to promote alternative points of view (which I’m all for), but another to push this sort of dangerous Trump-level disinformation. 

Hello David, my name's Sam, I volunteer at the shop. I've seen the books you mean, I don't agree with them either but we inherited them from someone who used to work here but doesn't anymore. Since the volunteers and our new manager Stephen took over the running of the shop we've been going through the stock, making sure that we love and would recommend everything that we have. It's a process but we're getting there. The conspiracy books are currently in the bargain bin. ;D

Is this the same fellow who used to run the Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green?

Every few months they would send out a begging request like this. 

Either the shop and it's products and services are not viable in this area or the shop is not being run well.

Hi Gordon. I think you mean Tim, who used to run The Big Green Bookshop and this one too. He's retired now, it's been taken on by volunteers and a new manager. It's possible that you're right: we love having a bookshop in this area but perhaps it's not viable, as you say. But we have lots of ideas and plans for and belief in this project, and we hope to get the chance to turn it around. 

And they have a very efficient service for ordering books for customers. Supporting local rather than Amazon.

Exactly, support our non-profit Cooperative bookshop if you can.

So don't buy them, David. What a strange position you have: that books you don't agree with shouldn't be sold. I wouldn't spend my money on "conspiracy-based books", but I'd support any bookshop's rights to stock them. "Bookshop sells books" really does seem to be a strange criticism. 

Anyone can sell anything (legal) that they want. I was suggesting one possible reason why the bookshop appears to be doing poorly - their odd selection of books. 

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