KIERAN: So Jane – you’ll be off to Denmark soon to do your work placement.

JANE: Yes, I’m really looking forward to it and I’ve just started packing up all my books to put in storage.

KIERAN: Well, I hope they don’t get spoilt.

JANE: It’s OK – my grandfather works in a bookshop and he told me how to pack them.

KIERAN: Oh, that’s helpful.

JANE: He says you have to support the spine otherwise the paper can come away from the cover[21].

KIERAN: Yeah – that’s obvious.

JANE: He also told me to pack them flat in the box not on their side – again because they can bend and if you leave them like that for, say, a year, it’s quite hard to get them back to their normal shape.

KIERAN: Well, it’s pretty clear that ruins them, but a lot of people just can’t be bothered to protect their books.

JANE: He always says it’s such a shame that publishers don’t use better-quality paper.

KIERAN: It’s the acid in the paper that causes the problem, isn’t it?

JANE: Yeah – that’s why old books go yellow. You know some of the books my grandfather’s given me are like that already.

KIERAN: Oh . . .

JANE: I should dump them really if they’re going to deteriorate further, but I’d feel bad. They’ll always remind me of him[22]. He’s quite a collector, you know.

KIERAN: Well, if they’re important to you . . .

JANE: Yeah – I’d regret just throwing them away.

KIERAN: You know, maybe it’s because I was taught to treasure books . . . but I hate seeing students force open the pages – of paperbacks. They press so hard they end up breaking the spine.

JANE: I know, but unfortunately, paperbacks aren’t designed to last a long time and people know that. Hardbacks aren’t quite as weak.

KIERAN: Yeah, they’re different, I suppose. But I still don’t think people value hardbacks like they used to.

JANE: Well, they aren’t decorative, are they, like other objects. Plus, nowadays, people don’t keep them out on shelves as much as they used to.

KIERAN: That’s such a pity. When I visit someone – if they have, say, a colorful book on a table, it’s the first thing I’m drawn to.

JANE: I agree-and book covers can be a work of art in themselves. Some are really eye-catching[23].

KIERAN: I’ve always been taught to handle books carefully. If you watch someone take a book off a shelf, well, they usually do it wrong.

JANE: Ah, my grandfather says, you should put your hand right over the top of the book . . . or if you can’t do that, pull the other books on the shelf aside so that you can hold the whole cover.

KIERAN: When did you learn all this?

JANE: He watched me pull a heavy book off the shelf when I was small, and it fell on the floor and broke apart[24].

KIERAN: Oh dear!

KIERAN: I can still remember it!

JANE: You know what I really like?

KIERAN: What?

JANE: The smell of new books.

KIERAN: Me too.

JANE: My parents used to laugh at me when I was a kid because I loved putting books up to my nose. Almost as much as reading them!

KIERAN: New books aren’t cheap, though, are they?

JANE: I guess we’re lucky we can buy them[25].

KIERAN: My grandfather stocks second-hand books as well as new ones and they don’t smell quite as good.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

KIERAN: I’d love to have a bookshop like your grandfather. What’s it like?

JANE: Well, it’s quite big – it’s got two floors and an attic, and he stocks all kinds of books really.

KIERAN: I guess he treasures things like first editions and other rare books.

JANE: Yeah – you might think he’d keep those in the attic or somewhere.

KIERAN: . . . so they’d be hidden?

JANE: Yeah. But he likes people to know that he has them. So, he puts them out in the shop but makes sure you need a ladder to get them[26].

KIERAN: Right. That would prevent any thefts!

JANE: Uhuh.

KIERAN: Does he stock books for children?

JANE: He does. He particularly likes to encourage kids to read; he always says that he used to sit under the stairs as a child with a pile of books and read them all.

KIERAN: Is that where he keeps them, then?

JANE: Not exactly- he’s got a dedicated area on the ground floor with cushions[27] so that parents can enter with their toddlers, go there and spend some time reading to them.

KIERAN: Oh cool.

JANE: And then there’s a place for pushchairs by the front door. And a café if anyone needs refreshments.

KIERAN: That’s good to know.

JANE: As I said, it’s a big shop and there’s a storage area out the back as well.

KIERAN: Oh, what does he keep there? Books he wants to throw away?

JANE: He hardly ever throws anything away -he just leaves unwanted books by the front door for customers to take[28].

KIERAN: Well, that’s very nice.

JANE: Yeah-and books people or institutions have requested, they all go at the far end[29].

KIERAN: Oh.

JANE: He thinks it’s best to keep these out of the main shopping area as they’re boxed and new.

KIERAN: Did you get your coursebooks from him?

JANE: Naturally. He stocks books for a lot of the colleges. He used to keep these books on the first floor, but now there’s a new university in my hometown, he’s moved them downstairs to attract the students. They’re actually part of the coffee shop, on low shelves all around it[30].

KIERAN: Pretty central then. You’ll have to take me there some time!