Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Ingrid Srinath]

> On 4 Aug 2016, at 18:01, rajeev chakravarthi  wrote:
> 
> would recommend Granth (Juhu) and Kitabkhana (Fort) in Mumbai.

Second those and add my current favourite, Wayword & Wise run by Virat Chandok 
who used to manage Lotus.

http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/wayword-wise-for-the-love-of-books/

Ingrid Srinath

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Thaths]

On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 5:42 PM Venkatesh H R  wrote:

> IMHO
> There are 3 types of bookstores:
> 1. Big chain stories, like Crossword, landmark etc. Where you have
> best-seller lists, best fiction, best non-fiction so on. They're
> predictable places. I once visited Landmark in Chennai and bought some
> great stuff there. I remember finding a Matt Rees book there I hadn't found
> anywhere else.
>

Landmark was not always a chain. In their heyday (IMO, before they sold to
Tata and became a chain) they still had a superb selection.


> 2. Stores with haphazardly put together books. You need to search these
> stores for gems, but you'll definitely find them - like Blossom in B'lore,
> Midlands in Delhi, nagashri in B'lore, etc.
>

Blossoms was truly marvelous. The Chennai equivalent was the used bookstore
wallah in Luz corner.


> 3. Stores with carefully curated books. These, I find to be the best. Fact
> & Fiction was one such. The Bookshop in Delhi too, and maybe Lotus in
> Bombay at one point. Unfortunately these tend to be passion-driven,
> independent bookstores which don't make money. I miss them the most. Strand
> bookstore in NY is probably the last such big store anywhere in the world.
>

Bookbuyers - a used bookstore in downtown Mountain View (Udhay, remember
when I took you there?) was of a similar caliber.  Unfortunately, they have
recently had to move to the boondocks of Silicon Valley.

While we are on the topic of bookstores, other excellent bookstores that
come to mind:

1. Kinokunia's flagship store in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

2. Powells in Portland, Oregon

3. White Lotus press' bookstore on Sukhamvit road in Bangkok

Thaths





>
> Alas.
> On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 5:27 PM Suresh Ramasubramanian 
> wrote:
>
> > She was doing a going out of business sort of sale a while back – the
> > Connemara was damaged by the floods and they used that as an excuse to
> boot
> > her.
> >
> > Pity – excellent if rather idiosyncratic collection crammed into a
> > surprisingly small place.  And she knew what she was talking about.
> >
> > On 04/08/16, 5:18 PM, "silklist on behalf of Udhay Shankar N"
> >  > ud...@pobox.com> wrote:
> >
> > There used to be this store inside (I think) The Connemara hotel in
> > Madras.
> > Reminded me of the late lamented Premier Bookstore in Bangalore. Any
> > idea
> > if it is still around?
> >
> > Udhay
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[rajeev chakravarthi]

would recommend Granth (Juhu) and Kitabkhana (Fort) in Mumbai.



On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 5:41 PM, Venkatesh H R  wrote:

> IMHO
> There are 3 types of bookstores:
> 1. Big chain stories, like Crossword, landmark etc. Where you have
> best-seller lists, best fiction, best non-fiction so on. They're
> predictable places. I once visited Landmark in Chennai and bought some
> great stuff there. I remember finding a Matt Rees book there I hadn't found
> anywhere else.
>
> 2. Stores with haphazardly put together books. You need to search these
> stores for gems, but you'll definitely find them - like Blossom in B'lore,
> Midlands in Delhi, nagashri in B'lore, etc.
>
> 3. Stores with carefully curated books. These, I find to be the best. Fact
> & Fiction was one such. The Bookshop in Delhi too, and maybe Lotus in
> Bombay at one point. Unfortunately these tend to be passion-driven,
> independent bookstores which don't make money. I miss them the most. Strand
> bookstore in NY is probably the last such big store anywhere in the world.
>
> Alas.
> On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 5:27 PM Suresh Ramasubramanian 
> wrote:
>
> > She was doing a going out of business sort of sale a while back – the
> > Connemara was damaged by the floods and they used that as an excuse to
> boot
> > her.
> >
> > Pity – excellent if rather idiosyncratic collection crammed into a
> > surprisingly small place.  And she knew what she was talking about.
> >
> > On 04/08/16, 5:18 PM, "silklist on behalf of Udhay Shankar N"
> >  > ud...@pobox.com> wrote:
> >
> > There used to be this store inside (I think) The Connemara hotel in
> > Madras.
> > Reminded me of the late lamented Premier Bookstore in Bangalore. Any
> > idea
> > if it is still around?
> >
> > Udhay
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Venkatesh H R]

IMHO
There are 3 types of bookstores:
1. Big chain stories, like Crossword, landmark etc. Where you have
best-seller lists, best fiction, best non-fiction so on. They're
predictable places. I once visited Landmark in Chennai and bought some
great stuff there. I remember finding a Matt Rees book there I hadn't found
anywhere else.

2. Stores with haphazardly put together books. You need to search these
stores for gems, but you'll definitely find them - like Blossom in B'lore,
Midlands in Delhi, nagashri in B'lore, etc.

3. Stores with carefully curated books. These, I find to be the best. Fact
& Fiction was one such. The Bookshop in Delhi too, and maybe Lotus in
Bombay at one point. Unfortunately these tend to be passion-driven,
independent bookstores which don't make money. I miss them the most. Strand
bookstore in NY is probably the last such big store anywhere in the world.

Alas.
On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 5:27 PM Suresh Ramasubramanian 
wrote:

> She was doing a going out of business sort of sale a while back – the
> Connemara was damaged by the floods and they used that as an excuse to boot
> her.
>
> Pity – excellent if rather idiosyncratic collection crammed into a
> surprisingly small place.  And she knew what she was talking about.
>
> On 04/08/16, 5:18 PM, "silklist on behalf of Udhay Shankar N"
>  ud...@pobox.com> wrote:
>
> There used to be this store inside (I think) The Connemara hotel in
> Madras.
> Reminded me of the late lamented Premier Bookstore in Bangalore. Any
> idea
> if it is still around?
>
> Udhay
>
>
>
>
>

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Suresh Ramasubramanian]

She was doing a going out of business sort of sale a while back – the Connemara 
was damaged by the floods and they used that as an excuse to boot her. 

Pity – excellent if rather idiosyncratic collection crammed into a surprisingly 
small place.  And she knew what she was talking about.

On 04/08/16, 5:18 PM, "silklist on behalf of Udhay Shankar N" 
 wrote:

There used to be this store inside (I think) The Connemara hotel in Madras.
Reminded me of the late lamented Premier Bookstore in Bangalore. Any idea
if it is still around?

Udhay

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Sumant Srivathsan]

>
> There used to be this store inside (I think) The Connemara hotel in
> Madras. Reminded me of the late lamented Premier Bookstore in Bangalore.
> Any idea if it is still around?
>

Yes, Giggles. It's been on death watch for years now, and somehow, Nalini
Chettur has managed to keep it going to this day.

Here's a profile on the lady by Geeta Doctor (speaking of whom, is Vikram
on this list?):
http://scroll.in/article/806077/have-you-met-chennais-greatest-bookseller-with-the-smallest-bookshop

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Sumant Srivathsan]

>
> Isn't there another one in Khan Market that's holding on though? Can't
> recall the bookstore name but it's the one that houses Cafe Turtle.
>

Full Circle.

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Udhay Shankar N]

There used to be this store inside (I think) The Connemara hotel in Madras.
Reminded me of the late lamented Premier Bookstore in Bangalore. Any idea
if it is still around?

Udhay

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Badri Natarajan]

> On 4 Aug 2016, at 10:06, Thaths  wrote:
> 
> Now that Landmark (the main bookstore and the various branches) is dead[1],
> where do literate silklisters in Chennai go to buy books?
> 
> Thaths

*delurks*

Yes, Starmark the best option by far. Some other smaller places but wouldn’t 
even bother with them. 

PS - SRS, do you mean Starmark in Phoenix Mall? I didn’t even know they had an 
EA branch. The Phoenix Mall branch isn’t bad. Not great, but not bad. 

Landmark was fantastic - so many amazing childhood memories. It was a “happy 
place” as a kid. Most of the slide came after they sold out to the Tata Group..

I am also mostly on Kindle now but recommendations come when I walk through 
bookshops and take notes plus friends, plus blogs and discussion forums 
relating to subjects I’m interested in..that kind of thing. Even book reviews 
in newspapers etc. I have friends who swear by Goodreads but I have never found 
it necessary..

Badri

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Simmi Sareen]

On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 4:44 PM, Venkatesh H R  wrote:

>
> Unfortunately, one of Delhi's only 2 good bookstores Fact & Fiction shut
> last year. The other one being a The Bookshop. Let's see how long it lasts.
>
> Ah, the amount of time I spent in Fact and Fiction when I lived in Delhi.
I think Ajit, the owner, called it 'death by sadness' in the post he wrote
when the shop closed. Aptly describes the feelings of all who went to him
like a trusted friend for book recommendations.

Isn't there another one in Khan Market that's holding on though? Can't
recall the bookstore name but it's the one that houses Cafe Turtle.

Simmi

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Venkatesh H R]

Scroll.in has a very good newsletter called 'Books and Ideas' - edited by
Arunava Sinha who frequently has a lot of stuff on Indian authors.
http://scroll.in/newsletter/

Unfortunately, one of Delhi's only 2 good bookstores Fact & Fiction shut
last year. The other one being a The Bookshop. Let's see how long it lasts.
On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 4:37 PM Thaths  wrote:

> On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 3:08 PM Biju Chacko  wrote:
>
> > However, I'm yet to find a good replacement for browsing a bookstore to
> > discover new authors and books. This is a slightly newer version of the
> > problem in the mp3/streaming music world of finding new music.
> >
> > Suggestions, anyone?
> >
> >
> I follow some people on Goodreads. I get some book recommendations from
> there.
>
> Thaths
>

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Thaths]

On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 3:08 PM Biju Chacko  wrote:

> However, I'm yet to find a good replacement for browsing a bookstore to
> discover new authors and books. This is a slightly newer version of the
> problem in the mp3/streaming music world of finding new music.
>
> Suggestions, anyone?
>
>
I follow some people on Goodreads. I get some book recommendations from
there.

Thaths

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Mohit]

> On 04-Aug-2016, at 15:08, Biju Chacko  wrote:
> 
> I only read on the Kindle now. The convenience trumps most downsides.

But kindle doesn't have books in Indian languages. I'm particularly interested 
in Hindi/Urdu novels & poetry.

Regards,
Mohit

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Simmi Sareen]

On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 3:08 PM, Biju Chacko  wrote:

> I only read on the Kindle now. The convenience trumps most downsides.
> However, I'm yet to find a good replacement for browsing a bookstore to
> discover new authors and books. This is a slightly newer version of the
> problem in the mp3/streaming music world of finding new music.
>
> Suggestions, anyone?
>
> -- b
>
>
>
I find reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/booksuggestions) to be a great
place to discover new books. Topics on this thread tend to be both weird
and interesting so I usually come back with some great ideas on what to
read next.

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Biju Chacko]

I only read on the Kindle now. The convenience trumps most downsides.
However, I'm yet to find a good replacement for browsing a bookstore to
discover new authors and books. This is a slightly newer version of the
problem in the mp3/streaming music world of finding new music.

Suggestions, anyone?

-- b


On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 2:36 PM, Thaths  wrote:

> Now that Landmark (the main bookstore and the various branches) is dead[1],
> where do literate silklisters in Chennai go to buy books?
>
> Thaths
>
> [1] Much as I loathed their slide into a glorified Hallmark card and
> stationary sales, they had an (for Chennai) unsurpassed selection of books
> and staff who could talk intelligently about the books in their store.
>

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Thaths]

On Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 2:42 PM Suresh Ramasubramanian 
wrote:

> There’s a store called “Starmark” in the Express Avenue mall. Worth a try.
>

Thanks! It looks promising.


> Are you in Chennai now, Thaths?
>

In transit in Chennai between different trips abroad.

Thaths

Re: [silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Suresh Ramasubramanian]

There’s a store called “Starmark” in the Express Avenue mall. Worth a try.

Are you in Chennai now, Thaths?

On 04/08/16, 2:36 PM, "silklist on behalf of Thaths" 
 wrote:

Now that Landmark (the main bookstore and the various branches) is dead[1],
where do literate silklisters in Chennai go to buy books?

Thaths

[1] Much as I loathed their slide into a glorified Hallmark card and
stationary sales, they had an (for Chennai) unsurpassed selection of books
and staff who could talk intelligently about the books in their store.

[silk] What replaces Landmark in Chennai?

[Thaths]

Now that Landmark (the main bookstore and the various branches) is dead[1],
where do literate silklisters in Chennai go to buy books?

Thaths

[1] Much as I loathed their slide into a glorified Hallmark card and
stationary sales, they had an (for Chennai) unsurpassed selection of books
and staff who could talk intelligently about the books in their store.