Midnight in Peking<\/em>, by Paul French. A brilliant and evocative mix of history, reportage and real-life crime thriller.<\/p>\nCL:\u00a0The atmosphere in the Bookworm is famously comfortable for Chengdu’s expats: what’s your secret?<\/h3>\n
Peter:\u00a0Just simply to set up a place that we would like to go ourselves, somewhere casual that feels like your own sitting room, that’s comfortable, friendly, has books everywhere, good music, decent food and drinks, and interesting discussions. That was the objective, of course with venue management it’s always a work in progress, but that’s what we aim for and hopefully mostly deliver.<\/p>\n
CL:\u00a0How do you feel about Kindles and ebooks? Will they ever match the authentic, bound-book reading experience for you?<\/h3>\n
Peter:\u00a0It’s a love-hate thing. Of course for most of us a digitial browse will never match the sensual between-the-covers experience a printed and bound beauty delivers. Having said that you have to love the convenience of ebooks. And the advent of downloadable books means many people have the tendency to read more than they did before. That’s good to see.<\/p>\n
It’s driving many bookstores to the wall of course, and that trend can only continue, and I think our communities will miss those spaces, along with the music stores that are also going the way of the dodo. Having said that I am hopeful that there is still a small space for creative and flexible independents who bring a niche to the table.<\/p>\n
CL:\u00a0What’s the best selling book that you’ve sold at the Bookworm? What types of books sell really well?<\/h3>\n
The best-seller over the years has been Peter Hessler’s trilogy, River Town, Oracle Bones and Country Driving. And that genre, China\/non-fiction is far and away our core market. People here are keen to read this type of title to help them make sense of the zany world around them. And many people, I suppose, feel their own China experience could make for an interesting read someday, so they want to see what others are writing and compare notes.<\/p>\n
Personal contact is important in the book-selling world. Many of the China authors have spoken at the Bookworm at some point or another, and people are more inclined to buy a book when they’ve met a writer, heard them present their work, and chatted over a beer or a glass of wine with them.<\/p>\n
CL:\u00a0How has Chengdu’s literary scene changed or grown in 5 years?<\/h3>\n
Peter:\u00a0Weibo and other online elements have really led to an exciting development here in the literary scene. It has stripped away a lot of the exclusivity of the industry. You don’t need to have the trappings, a publisher, agent, or be in the state-sanctioned writer’s association to get your voice heard. You put something out that’s of interest and written well and it’ll get passed around quickly. People will read you and follow you. That’s been a refreshing leveler.<\/p>\n
CL:\u00a0What does the future of the Bookworm in Chengdu look like, or Chengdu’s literary scene?<\/h3>\n
Peter:\u00a0Chengdu’s literary scene is thriving these days. It has got a strong reputation across the nation for producing a plethora of great writers representing all generations and genres. Unfortunately little of this gets translated into English at this point. We at The Bookworm would hope to develop our role here and be a bridge linking these interesting writers and voices to the international community. It can be a fascinating window into the psyche of the community we live in.<\/p>\n
More information on The Bookworm including map and address: The Bookworm on Chengdu Places<\/a>. Tickets are available to each event of the Literary Festival for 50 yuan or 400 yuan for access to all events between the 8th and 24th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As its Literary Festival draws near, we ask a few questions of The Bookworm’s Irish owner and founder, Peter Goff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,96],"tags":[497,519],"yoast_head":"\n
Chengdu Stories: Peter Goff, Bookworm Founder - Chengdu Living<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n