Taken from Bloomsbury Book Fair Website

Two weekends ago, I attended this month's Bloomsbury Book Fair*, with Mr P, and our friends from Scotland, Iran and Guyana (the latter two are currently based in Toronto). We were the youngest people there, with the majority of attendees being elderly men above 65 (that's not even the combined age of Mr P & I, seriously!!!). Whilst perusing the antediluvian books of one pleasant vendor from Kent, I managed to strike up a 15 minute long conversation with him about his rather impressive collection (he had a 1st edition Miss Moppet by Beatrix Potter, and another book that cost £2100). He asked me if I "come here often" (the sly old devil), and I told him that it was my first time, and that most of my book shopping was either on Amazon, at which point he cringed, and small bookshops or charity shops with used books. He couldn't let the Amazon bit go, and instead of complimenting me on my visits to small bookshops, he addressed the former.

L-R: Crazy Crop Top by Mary Meyer, £62/$100 | Lou Fringe Tote Bag by Cri de Coeur, , £110/$175 | Hall Trousers in Domino by Ace&Jig, £115/$189  | Clara Tassel Loafer by Grenson, £200

"You really should forget Amazon, and check out HIVE, that's H-I-V-E, like in bees. They support small, local bookshops." My eyes lit up. How do you spell that again? No, I didn't ask that, but I did make a mental note of this online platform for a literary cooperative that keeps these monographs alive. Sure, Amazon allows one to sell their books, but at what price. The vendor, whose name I did not get, was keen to point out that unlike Amazon, the shopper view all the local independent bookstores, and shop according to proximity, which was a great way to connect the shopper to their community and vice versa. Not to mention that when we buy a book from HIVE, our local bookshop will receive a percentage of that money. Huh!!!! Why don't you just check it out? And for those of you Kindle-lites, check out their e-Book section. There is definitely something for everyone.

[I am in a literary mood; just finished one of the books I bought by Oliviero Honore Bianchi, and am now starting another...]

* Bloomsbury Book Fair is monthly. The next event will be on the 10th November at the Royal National Hotel, Bedford Way, London WC1H 0DG.