Far From the Madding Crowd: Independent Bookstores Beyond the City

Since the founding of the Ton­shan Bookstore close by National Taiwan University in 1981, so-called “independent bookstores” (IBs) have been a part of Taiwan society for a third of a century.

According to Qiu Ying­liang, owner of THUS Books in Tai­chung and also secretary-general of the Taiwan Association for Independent Bookshop Culture, we are now in the midst of the “second wave” of IBs.

If a venerable established IB can be called an “indie bookstore 1.0,” then one of the second wave can be called an “indie bookstore 2.0.” As for where the break should come between eras, those of the first wave were mainly founded in the 1990s or before, whereas those of the second wave are new-style bookstores that have been founded in this century.

Compared to venerable IBs, new-style IBs have a distinctly different vibe.

Most of the older independent bookstores are located near universities, and cater to the needs of students and professors. But many new-style IBs are located far from downtown areas, sometimes even in remote communities. Also, most established IBs just sell books, whereas most new-style IBs combine bookselling with other lines of business.

Qiu Ying­liang argues that there are big differences between the ideals of IB founders in the two waves, and also differences in Taiwan society itself, that underlay the different operating models.

Most of the venerable IBs were founded while Taiwan was undergoing profound political change back in the 1980s and 1990s, highlighted by the lifting of martial law in 1987. The founders of many of these shops wanted to provide books in the humanities and social sciences that communicated ideas more suited to an open society. But many newly rising IBs have been founded in an era that has democracy, and where the main concerns of the reading public are centered on lifestyle choices and issues. The founders of these bookshops are playing the role of “value ­disseminators.”

Qiu Ying­liang says, “If you come to my bookshop, you will see that you can live a full and happy life without a great deal of money.” Qiu contends that this is the underlying life philosophy that many owners of IB 2.0s want to spread.

IBs in suburban or remote areas, a new phenomenon, have a special place in the cultural landscape. They face lower operating costs, and are under less pressure to move books. Therefore they have more operational options than bookstores in urban areas. They can sell agricultural products on the side, rent out bed-and-breakfast style rooms, and so on; they need not even have book sales as their primary revenue source.

Here in the age of the IB 2.0, the indie booksellers in remote areas—in the countryside, at the beach—each having their one unique style and character, can be considered the most exciting and enriching new element in Taiwan’s “cultural scenery.”