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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

The Big Green Bookshop - needs your help!

This from the Big Green Bookshop blog;

 

We absolutely love it here at the Big Green Bookshop. These have been the most rewarding 3 years of our working lives and we really don’t want it to end. The decision to open came about when the Waterstone’s we managed in the shopping centre was suddenly closed with little warning. The public outcry at this decision made our minds up. After a lot of effort, a considerable amount of help from some amazing people, our redundancy money and a large loan from the bank for our stock and the building, we finally opened the Big Green Bookshop on March 8th 2008.

 It’s just that we can’t really afford to have another nine months like the nine we just had, and despite all your amazing support we are struggling.

 It was always our aim to try and be more than just a shop where you buy books, and since we opened we’ve tried to offer something for everyone:

  • Author events including Will Self, Mark Billingham, David Vann, Karen Maitland, Christopher Fowler, Laura Dockrill, Magnus Mills and even Maisy Mouse!
  • Musical evenings, film nights and historical walks
  • Well over 300 visits so far to the local schools in Haringey, Enfield and Barnet helping them to promote literacy with author visits, talks, storytelling and whatever else we can.
  • Monthly knitting groups, quizzes, writers groups and board games days (and we’re about to start a comedy night.)
  • Two book groups.
  • Weekly storytelling and singing for the under 5’s.
  • Supporting local talent by holding book launches, poetry readings and talks by the cream of North London’s literary stars.
  • Even a place to leave your shopping if it gets too heavy and to sit down with a free cup of tea or coffee.

 The list could go on, but we hope you get the idea.

 We sincerely hope that you want The Big Green Bookshop to remain here and value what we do and so we are asking for your help.

 Our bank loan now has nine months to go until it’s paid off. This is our biggest single outgoing each month. Once the loan has been paid off we will be in a relatively stable position.

 We want to address the short term issues and also the longer term ones, so;

Firstly
As our last newsletter announced, we’d like to set up The Big Green Bookshop Committee which will support the bookshop, offering suggestions & ideas to improve what we do for our customers in the future. The first meeting is this Sunday February 27th at 11am. Please come along.

Secondly
It’s the 3rd Anniversary of the Bookshop on March 8th. During the week 6th to 12th March we’re asking you all to buy just one extra book from the Big Green Bookshop. We have over 1,000 people on our loyalty card scheme & many of you who are reading this who aren’t.  If each of you bought one extra book this would pretty much guarantee our survival.

For those of you who cannot make it into the bookshop, but want to help, we take orders over the phone or on our website, and we’ve also set up a ‘donate now’ button on our blog if you have all the books you need but would still like to help us out.

 

 We have some of the greatest customers in the world and we are constantly humbled by the support you show us.

 

Thanks for reading this message.

Simon, Tim and Mark

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ruth on February 25, 2011 at 16:37

I went in and had a good look round. Feels like a nice old fashioned studenty type bookshop so want to wish them well. I bought a lovely historical book - Haringey Pubs, as I have an interest in watering holes (no, not just drinking in them!!) and there are some fab pics in there. Remember some time ago Hugh asked about the 'ghost' on the side of the Queens Head pub? A pic in here c. 1860  shows it with livery stables to the side and the pub entrance faces onto Ducketts Common so that would explain the ghost after all.

I asked one of the guys there if they had had much response since the HoL posting and he says oh yes, people have been ringing in nicely. Let's all go and buy something there too! I will be going back for sure. 

Permalink Reply by matt on February 26, 2011 at 11:14

Ruth

 

Mystery solved re the Queen's Head side building; well done you!

 

Good to hear this HOL post on the BGB has helped them. Thanks for letting us know.

Permalink Reply by Danzigger on February 25, 2011 at 19:13

Hi Simon, Tim and Mark

 

I am sorry, even ashamed to say that I've never been to your shop. But me & Mrs. D are coming in tomorrow to get a book each, and I promise to use you more from now on.

 

All the best

Permalink Reply by HoL Site Admin on February 25, 2011 at 19:51

Here's one of the replies on BGBS's original blog posting:

Being brutal, nonetheless a fan, you have to redefine your business model in the face of digitalisation.

I love paper as opposed to 01010101 but it is here. So what is your function? Social workers?Community builders? Educators? Retailers?

Obviously, the latter, though the others have a role. But only to support your job as a retailer.Your predicament sadly is not unique but I think it possible to look again at what small retailers offer and how they can prosper by adopting and taking advantage of the digital age in new and novel ways.

My worry is you will be in the same position next year unless you radicaly change - given, fingers crossed, that you resolve present circumstances.

One of the problems of us book buyers is a certain inherent conservatism with a small 'c'. Fine for the book-buyers, less for the trade as we readers slowly curl up our pages and fox.

Your challenges are to respond to the changing market, not necessarily by looking to tried and tested methods, but by looking at the market, why and how it is changing and by examining what you might be able to do. 

25 February 2011 17:51

Permalink Reply by Louise Nazeraj on February 25, 2011 at 20:24

I find shopping in Wood Green a real chore but we went to the bookshop today and had a lovely time.  The girls played with the toys, we bought some books and my daughter got her first cookery book.  I went to see "The Man Who Fell Asleep" read from his book some months ago which was very funny and the guys told me today that he also hosts the quiz night, so I'm going to try and get to that.  It's a fabulous place and it would be heartbreaking to lose such a community spirited shop. 

Katy MendesPermalink Reply by Katy Mendes on February 26, 2011 at 7:52
ah yes, the man who fell asleep, aka Greg - v funny guy, a colleague of mine. The quiz nights always look like fun in the photos on his FB page.
Permalink Reply by Gina O on February 25, 2011 at 21:05
Thanks for the information. We have seen the bookshop in passing but never gone in :( We definitely will this weekend and will check out the blog for events. It sounds like a great local shop. I don't mind going up to WG to visit it (actually I need to go there anyway this w/e).
Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on February 25, 2011 at 22:49

I'll admit that we don't often drop-in at the Big Green Bookshop. Nor are we regular book buyers. But when we're after particular books we try the Big Green first. One of its joys is friendly, knowledgeable advice and willingness to help. For instance, they'll order a book and then email or phone when it arrives - usually very quickly.

One of the less visible impacts of the cuts is that book buying is a ‘soft target’. That goes for schools and public libraries as well as well as family budgets. Bookshops are bound to be hit.

Although Hugh was spot-on about the impact of the internet. Not just Amazon and Kindles, but the existence of an enormous number of free articles and videos by people presenting ideas to explore. So I spend time reading and viewing stuff online when in the past I'd be getting the book. For example, last year a friend visiting from Washington sang the praises of Tony Judt. (Originally a Tottenham boy, by the way.) He's a click away on YouTube.

Though, I think we're also beginning to see how online and printed media will strike a new complementary balance. Watch the Judt video and videos of dozens of other authors which people have linked to on HoL. If you're stimulated and intrigued, then order their book(s) from The Big Green Bookshop.

Permalink Reply by Liz on February 25, 2011 at 23:35

I got myself one of those newfangled reader things but I can't do it. I can't read whole books on a thing with a screen. I love it for newspapers, pdfs and blogs. It's perfect for magazines and comics but not proper books, even the free ones available all over the web. 

I'm probably some kind of digital failure but I'm back to battered paperbacks in the handbag again.

However, I agree with you, Alan about the wealth of material to explore in terms of podcasts, videos and blogs like the TED talks, the RSA podcasts, the Philosophy Bites podcasts and lots of free OU material which means that where once I might have read a book, I use different forms of media...but nothing beats snuggling under a blanket on a rainy day with a tome, having a coffee in a cafe or stretching out on a sun lounger with a good novel...and no digital reader in the world will replace the pleasure of reading a bedtime story from one of the many, many beautiful picture books for kids.

Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on March 14, 2011 at 14:25
A P.S. to my post about the late Tony Judt.

I'm half way through Ill Fares The Land. Which seems to be his urgent last 'message' ; encouraging us to recognise and fight for what's best about the social achievements of Britain and other western social democracies following after Second World War. As a historian with an enormous range of interests, Judt sets our present debates within a wide and illuminating historical sweep. (Even Adam Smith gets a favourable mention.)

Currently the book is only available in hardback costing over £20. But today the Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green told me the paperback is out on 7 April at £9.99. They're getting in half a dozen copies. (Phone 8881 6767.)
Permalink Reply by dee_gee on February 25, 2011 at 23:21

Sad to hear about this, and about Prospero's which I didn't know had closed. I used to love spending time in Ottakar's in WG before waterstones bought it and then ruined it completely. It used to feel lovely and quite magical, with the little staircase/tiny escalator and the nooks and crannies upstairs. Now that entire magical space has been gutted to make way for a boring hennes.

 

Anyway, I am going shopping in WG tomorrow so will definitely drop by the BGB and buy a book, now that I've read this. I haven't been in there for ages!

Permalink Reply by Alison P on March 1, 2011 at 17:25

The Big Green and their plight have been covered by a couple of national newspapers, including a mention in this Guardian article about local book shops.

 

Their campaign has started really well; according to their strugglometer by day 4 they reached 28% of their target, which is a fantastic start. If you're interested, their blog is well worth a read and has some great stories of how local people have responded to news about the difficulties they are having. Next week sees the start of their week long campaign to encourage people to buy an extra book, so do get along there if you can.

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