Libris Books

After the demise of the Book Chamber nearly a decade ago, it seemed that local readers were condemned to an era of dessication that could be quenched only by sojourns to lesser cities whose populations read less for profit than the dubious pleasure of sustaining dingy and disorderly establishments that survive by hawking the worn and torn discards of deceased degenerates. (For instance, Greater Vancouver, with just two million heads, hosts multiple chain stores as well as sundry specialised sellers – a prime example of the West's wastefulness and penchant for non-productive pursuits). In contrast, local stalwarts Times and MPH have been undergoing a state of decline ascent as more shelfspace is dedicated to dapper covers on retrieving moved cheeses and mastering the digital arts. In 2003, Methodist Publishing House's once-thronging multi-storey bastion of bibliophilia lost whatever remained of its soul when it became a mere cornerstone of commercial apprenticeship.

Borders, and later Kinokuniya, plugged the gap somewhat with unprecedented variety and generally agreeable levels of service. But what they lack is the duck-shaking joy of discovery and tingly thrill of surprise that much less-organised nooks offer to jaded browsers who already know what to expect from each week's fresh display of new releases. And increasingly, the aisles are haunted by souls that exude a palpable antipathy to the crepuscular pursuit of bound verbosity (how often do I overhear comments such as "wahrao, here got so many books for fuck?" or "Eh, how long more you stay here ah, damn boring this place leh!").

Thus it was a double dose of serendipity when I found Libris Books in the depths of the fifth floor of Shaw Tower one day while seeking a secluded spot to water my duck. It was closed then, and I didn't want to risk hurting my duck trying to break in so I vowed to return. Which I did yesterday, happily skipping the real hazard of bumping into a diploma-tic smartass in the process. :-P

Libris Books (the name, unfortunately, grates a little when one realises that libris is simply Latin for books - but they have a nice catty bookmark so I forgive them) occupies a smallish retail lot lined with well-stocked shelves. A lady named Thea mans the shop. She apologised that the place was undergoing some reorganisation, so the books were not all arranged under their subjects. But that was fine by my duck, who is happy to poke around at random. Books on religion (both devotional and theological) are quite prominent amongst the collection; these fail to arouse my disbelieving duck. But other, more devilish, disciplines were in fair abundance, from historical reviews and literary criticism to philosophy and Asian studies. Natural history and ecology titles occupied at least one corner, from which I picked up a pristine volume of Insects of Hong Kong (Hong Kong University Press 1982), an entomological study that I was told is rather rare. I browsed through a survey of the community dynamics of Japanese macaques and decided an entire book on rabid monkeys would drive me up the tree wall.

Esoterica and erotica also cropped up periodically, but good duck that I am, these were left undefiled untouched. Readers with a certain discernment may also wish to purchase the few remaining volumes of a small Taiwanese (I think) publication illustrated from cover to cover with full colour pictures of a shapely young Oriental lass with the misfortune of having forgotten to bring even a single shred of clothing to the photoshoot. My duck is not bilingual, despite understanding English, Malay and German, and thus is unable to shed light on the undeniably pedagogical content of this manual of the female form in assorted poses from every angle. That said, Libris Books stocks quite a number of elegantly designed Chinese tomes, which appear to be mostly poetry (Lu Xu is quite well-represented) and classic treatises.

The shelves closer to Thea's desk display more valuable folios such as cloth-bound collectors' editions adorned with ornate type and enveloped by protective slipcases. True antiquarian omnibuses are not the typical turnover of Libris though – rather the focus is on out-of-print titles. I imagine their definition of out-of-print encompasses titles no longer available as hardbounds, as quite a few of their selection do seem to be still in circulation as paperbacks. But this is a minor quibble given the generally reasonable pricing of their wares, and with the understanding that regular new batches are scheduled from sources around the world (an email service announcing new arrivals is available), Libris Books is likely to have to endure periodic intrusions by my duck to its dim and dry chambers. 

Comments

[yl]

go to sweet classics music store right opposite Libris to hunt for some nice music scores!!!! :P