Readings bookshop celebrates 50 years of keeping Melburnians well-read
A much-loved community bookshop has weathered the challenges of online retail, e-books and bookselling behemoths and still come out the other side. This month Readings celebrates 50 years of keeping Melburnian book lovers well-read.
Leader
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Mark Rubbo stumbled into the book business in 1976, the start of a new chapter which would change his life.
He was running a music shop on Lygon St when Ross Reading asked him if he wanted to buy a bookshop down the street.
“It was a very easy decision to make,” he said.
Readings opened its doors in Carlton 50 years ago and has grown with stores in St Kilda, Hawthorn, Malvern and Doncaster — continuing the fairytale narrative of the independent bookseller that defeated Borders in 2011.
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Managing director Mr Rubbo recalled “s***ting himself” when he learnt the bookselling behemoth would move in across the street.
“We’d heard about all the small bookshops in the US that had been killed by Borders and Barnes & Noble. The community wanted us to survive — they took us on as a cause,” he said.
“When (Borders) first opened I remember a man coming in and saying ‘I know I can get this for $10 at Borders but I don’t want to buy it from there’.”
In an increasingly difficult time for booksellers, Readings reaches out to the community through author events, writing awards and book clubs.
Mr Rubbo said the store had thrived because it fostered a sense of community and nurtured emerging Australian talent.
“It was during our early years when Australian writers and stories were really starting to be published and we did our best to try and promote them, we were reaching out to the writers,” he said.
Bookshops were also safe meeting places for people to catch up or simply wait on their own, he said.
“Each store is slightly different thanks to the neighbourhood and the great staff there.
“You’ll often find the most popular book at any given store is one the staff love and have recommended to people.”
For example, Simon Mawer’s The Glass Room did a roaring trade at the Hawthorn outlet while the manager at the Carlton loved Chloe Hooper’s The Arsonist and recommended it to everyone.
“When you walk into a bookshop there are so many choices. How do you choose? One of the things I love about bookshops is that you can overhear customers talking to each other about the books they’ve read — you don’t get that at an online shop.”
One of Mr Rubbo’s proudest memories was knowing the Stella Prize for women’s writing was inspired by an International Women’s Day panel at the Carlton store.
Mr Rubbo said it was a challenge to evolve the business while sticking to its roots but he never wanted to lose sight of his values as an independent bookseller.
“Borders started as a small shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but it eventually lost sight of what made it wonderful,” he said.
“We have a strong principal to never open up against another independent bookseller.”
Asked whether he’d consider writing a book that could grace his store’s shelves, he laughed.
“I’ll leave writing to people much better at it than I am.”
Readings is celebrating its 50th birthday with a series of events across its stores.
For more information visit the website.
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