Hi everyone!
Following on from the Presidents announcement on Sunday that the country is now back to level 3 lockdown, I am extremely pleased to confirm that the Book Fair WILL be going ahead as planned on Sunday 15 August.
Covid protocols will be in place, each author attending will be expected to have a mask and sanitiser.
With that good news, lets have a closer look at our host for the day, Justin Gordon – owner of Book Dealers of Rivonia.
What inspired you to open your book shop?
I have always been a reader and a collector of books. I personally bought my first book when I was 5 years old. I eventually ended up working parttime in a bookshop and was eventually afforded the opportunity to buy the shop which I promptly did with about 30 seconds worth of reflection. It was the perfect fit.
Tell us a little about Book Dealers of Rivonia
We are part of the Bookdealers group of which there are another 3 shops in the Johannesburg area. The shop has been in Rivonia and neighbouring suburbs for about 20 years and I have owned the shop since 2011. We no longer trade out of a mall but out of a small business park with a retail presence. From my perspective it is a far more congenial environment and this is confirmed by the reaction of my customers to the ambience of the shop and the location.
What kind of books do you stock?
We stock everything from 2nd hand kids books to antiquarian books to collectable Africana. We do have an annexe to the shop which is a specialist military bookshop with about 2000 titles in stock. We also stock a large number of bestsellers of various genres. The South African book market isn’t really big enough to support specialist booksellers just selling one or two genres of books so we have to be flexible in what we stock and sell.
Who are your customers?
My customers have ranged from cabinet ministers to nuclear physicists to forensic psychologists to mercenaries to High Court Judges but the majority of my customers are generally local people looking for good books to read at affordable prices.
Have you any plans to write your own book?
Maybe, I am reading Richard Edwards’ book How to Write a Fiction Novel (definitely recommend it for budding authors) but the its finding the time.
What’s your favourite book to read (or genre or author)?
I will read anything that I find interesting – from books on fashion and clothing through children’s books through to military history. Authors that I enjoy are too numerous to mention and the same applies to the books I have enjoyed over the years and regard as special. I mostly read military history, crime and scifi/fantasy
What do you like to do when you’re not running your book shop?
I don’t understand the question. Only joking. I am in the shop 7 days a week and for me it is not just a job or a source of income it is something that I absolutely and thoroughly enjoy so I am happiest and most fulfilled when I am in the shop
