Of the 98 B.C. bookstores listed on the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association’s website, 29 of them are in the Vancouver Island region.
That’s the topic on the latest episode of the CBC podcast This is Vancouver Island.
From Victoria to Campbell River, to the Gulf Islands, island residents are rich with choice when it comes to local shops to stop in and pick up something to read.
And sometimes, that visit can seem like an emergency!
“They do come running through the door sometimes and go ‘I need a book! I need a book!'” said bookstore owner Megan Scott, speaking to CBC News about the 60th anniversary of Ivy’s Bookshop earlier this year.
Despite recent fears that e-readers and audiobooks would push physical books into obscurity, Scott says business is still strong.
“I think people just enjoy the tactile feeling of books.”
And they enjoy it enough that some island communities manage to support multiple independent bookstores.
There are nine in the Greater Victoria region, including Ivy’s.
And in the Comox Valley, 190 kilometres to the north and with a fifth of the population, there are three.
One of them is the Laughing Oyster Book Shop in Courtenay, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
“I would say that independent bookstores are very good at cooperating with each other,” Laughing Oyster owner Evelyn Gillespie told CBC News.
She said they each have their niche, and they share information with each other instead of competing.
But what is it about bookstores that make them so appealing, when books can be easily ordered and shipped online?
Listen to the latest episode of This is Vancouver Island to find out:
18:33We love the Island for its independent bookstores
When it comes to bookstores, islanders are beyond lucky. Our region has more independent bookstores than some entire provinces! In this episode, host Kathryn Marlow and her colleague Gregor Craigie dig into their love for bookstores, and share thoughts from the owners of Ivy’s Bookshop in Oak Bay and Laughing Oyster Book Shop in Courtenay.
Islanders, this is a podcast for you. Life on Vancouver Island isn’t all sunset strolls and forest bathing — it can be frustrating, isolating and expensive. We’re going to talk about the good, the bad and everything in between. Hosted by Kathryn Marlow, every Tuesday.
Tune into This is Vancouver Island every Tuesday on CBC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.