Attractive space at Hai Hac bookstore
Then came the opening day after waiting in excitement as the bookstore owner Hai Hac Phan only “dripped” the information about Hai Hac bookstore. I rushed to the place in a hurry on hearing about the opening ceremony, and I stood still admiring …
Resting modestly in an alley, at 5/2 Doi Cung Street. You can’t miss it as you only head for the house at number 2 Doi Cung Street, and Hai Hac bookstore is in front of you in a one-minute-walk distance.
I arrived there to listen to my own inner feeling while looking at the title of each book delicately arranged on the shelves. The books have been carefully selected as the store owner is a “bookworm”. Apart from foreign language books, economics books and bedside manuals and guides, there are many classic novels.
Hai Hac bookstore has brought happiness for both adults and children, especially mothers and mothers-to-be looking for ways of child bearing and rearing. It also provides novice writers with supports and assistance with publishing procedure. This is a valuable feature of the bookstore.
I remember the old days when I spent hours at bookstores on Le Loi street, and sometimes I went back home in regret just because I couldn’t afford the price of a book. I used to go three kilometers on my bicycle to Ben Ngu to rent books, and the tried to read as quickly as possible and circulated with friends to save the daily-based rent.
I once stopped by a bookstore on Nguyen Van Binh St., in Saigon. Under the shade of a tamarind tree, I had an idea of having my own bookstore to satisfy my passion and curiosity about miracles in every page of those books. A dream is always a dream, though. I have been constantly caught up with living.
As I am now standing in front of her, a slender young woman with strong will, I would like to say thanks in a tender way. And yet life is so busy within my humble amount of time. I had just enough time to look at those attractive books and chose for myself some to enrich my family bookshelf.
“If no one buys books, then I have a chance to live with these piles of books. It is happiness!” I was heart-touched on hearing that. In this era of technology, a swipe on the smartphone screen will allow access to a variety of eBooks. However, the best way to comprehend the values of life that writers brought us is to read directly on the prints.
Bookstores gradually disappear in the market today, or even when they are still open, they are none other than stationery stores. Fortunately, the city of Hue is adopting a policy to develop a book street. I hope it soon comes true so that Hue people will have a hub to come for books, creating the effects on reading habit and passion.
Story Trang Thuy. Photos: Linh Dan