About 8 years ago, I left my day job to open a record store, which seemed to be the logical evolution for me as I had been running a record label and record mailorder for a few years then. Finding a shop in London proved difficult and witnessing the way the MP3 format was spreading fast among music fans, I gave up on the idea.

Another recurring dream I have had is to run a book shop. But of course, at the moment, it seems that most people buy their books from Amazon and I must be one of the only few who still buy from bookshops even when I know it’s more expensive. In fact, my own partner thinks I am silly when I do this!

As an avid reader, I am looking forward to Kindle to come to the UK, and I will probably be an early adopter (I love technology and reading so this seems like a match made in heaven for me).

But even though I know I am looking forward to this new technology, bookshops are a favourite place of mine, a place where I can chill out and explore my own thoughts. I often call the big Borders in Central London (on Charing Cross Road and on Oxford Street) my spiritual home.

As such, I am worried that book shops will disappear. It’s already hard for them when internet sellers and supermarkets sell the same books at very discounted prices, but what will happen if people turn to electronic book readers such as Kindle?

I think the answer is a new kind of shop, a shop that acts as a community centre, a place full of experiences. While it’s convenient to shop on the internet, we still want places where to hang out, places where to meet like minded people, places where to indulge in our hobbies.

This is my dream for the bookshop of the future: some paper books on sale, some books for browsing (perhaps some out of print books), a coffee shop, wi-fi access and sofas throughout the shop, literary magazines and books reviews magazines for general browsing while drinking a coffee, books technology related gadgets on sale (the Kindles of the future), computer terminals from which you can order your electronic books directly from various websites (with a cut of the sale going to the shop as a commission/affiliate member of Amazon & co), events such as book groups, book signings, comedy, poetry reading, knowledgeable staff throughout the shop. How to make money you ask? On top of selling books, electronic books, gadgets like Kindle and coffees, the shop could sell a yearly membership which gives free or cheaper access to events, and also provide members a community run space inside the shop, a place where to hang out.

A dream? Yes. The future? Who knows…

Tags: bookshop, reading