It wasn’t too long ago that “the end of the book” was being confidently predicted by social observers and tech advocates. With the rise of the internet, smartphones, and electronic readers it was speculated the physical book was on the way out, readers gravitating towards digital devices and consigning the old paper-page affair to the literal pages of history.

But, as Anna Low, respected bookseller and owner of Potts Point Bookshop, can attest, such a prediction has proven a false prophecy, with actual physical books experiencing a renewed surge in popularity in recent years.

“The narrative has been around in the past few years that it’s ‘the end of the book’,” Anna, owner of the popular Macleay St shop since 2007, says.

“But it’s actually now going the other way – people have a lot of respect for books and the people who love books really love books. And people who’ve gone to Kindles or whatever have often found it was a really bad experience, and they’ve come back to ‘proper’ books.”

And Anna would know such a lay of the land. As proprietor of the Macleay St landmark, her shop stands as a pulse-point of a vibrant literary-loving Potts Point scene, with her hand-picked selection of titles meaning the shop is a carefully curated space, stocked with the local community in mind.

“That’s what being an independent bookseller is,” she says. “You have the ability to choose the books you want for your market, for an audience you know very well.

“We’ll often order just one copy of a book just for someone who lives locally and we know they’re going to want it even if they don’t know they want it yet. They don’t even know the book exists, but I know that they’re going to love it.

“When you get to know people’s tastes, they’ll just walk in and we’ll hand them something and they’ll go, ‘Oh my god I didn’t even know I wanted that – but I do!’.”

That bespoke community connection is key to the bookshop’s success and ongoing popularity. Whilst being an integral stop on any Potts Point visitor’s checklist, it is that sense that the shop is deeply embedded in the local community that is the lifeblood of the store.

“We do things like we run story-time events, and our Book Club is very important,” she says.

“For a lot of people who live on their own or are in an older demographic, the Book Club really gives them a sense of connection. They all read the same book and come and chat about it here in the shop three times a month. It’s something that’s very important to people.”

A former Miles Franklin judge, Anna has also contributed her expertise as a board member of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the ABA Kids’ Reading Guide panel. Her work has been formally recognised, earning her the Text Bookseller of the Year award in 2016 and a joint ABIA Independent Retailer of the Year honour in 2017.

Having been on-site in Potts Point for the past 20 or so years, she is well-placed to provide an astute assessment of the area and the local demographic. The changes to the area haven’t been lost on her.

“The community around here is a real mixture,” she says. “I’ve lived in the area for most of my adult life and I can see that it’s definitely changing. It’s becoming a lot more affluent; there’s more kind of retirees and downsizers moving in and I think they’re a highly educated and articulate market.

“And the majority move here because they want to be close to the city and close to all the things a neighbourhood like this offers. It’s amazing … they can walk to the shops and walk to everything. I was thinking that the other day that, wow, there are just people everywhere now.”

As for her own personal experience of being in the shop day in, day out, she wouldn’t hear of anything different.

“I just like being here,” she says with a smile. “My happiest moments are just when I am in here recommending books and being connected with people. Being part of it here is what we do, being with the people, finding the books and then recommending them.

“Just before Christmas, a customer asked for a recommendation for a kid who’s just not reading. I gave them three possibilities and a day later they sent me a photo of the kid having just finished the book. I love that.”

With that local relationship and curated sense of being a real part of the fabric of the suburb, it’s little wonder that the Potts Point Bookshop, with Anna and her loyal staff as enthusiastic support, remains one of Sydney’s most-loved independent bookstores, a must-visit haven of books and wonder on buzzing Macleay St.

By Adam Gibson

Photo Credit Simone McAullay Adams

Potts Point Bookshop

Open 7 days a week.

Monday to Saturday from 9am – 6pm

Sunday from 10am – 5pm

Public Holidays – it depends.  Please check our Instagram.

https://pottspointbookshop.com.au/