日本「書店大獎」的創辦人嶋浩一郎在《書店的逆襲》中說道：「書店就是藉由擺設，讓顧客與書相遇。如何安排相遇的方式，每家書店都有不同的風格。」在網絡盛行的時代，與實體書店來一場「令人意想不到的相遇」更讓人期待，無論是那一場相遇，都是獨一無二的。
In his book, The Counterattack of Bookstores, Koichiro Shima, who founded the Japan Booksellers Award, commented, “The displays in bookstores create a venue for the encounter between people and books. Each bookstore has its own way of orchestrating such encounters.” In an era where everything takes place online, a random encounter at a physical bookstore becomes something that people look forward to. At the end of the day, each and every encounter is unique in its own way.
「雖然說書店賣的都是書，但書的種類實在有太多；對於空間運用亦有所不同，所以書店之間也有很多不相同的地方。例如留下書舍是由幾位前記者開的，辦很多記者的演講，向大眾推廣新聞學。一拳書館則有很多關於本地菜、農產品的活動，他們亦很關注公民、基層權益等議題，是一間很貼地的書店。雖然大家都被歸類為書店，但風格和賣的東西都不一樣。事實上，書店是一個載體，賣的是一種想法。因為想法不一樣，各自成為了獨特的店。」獵人書店的店主黃文萱（Leticia）說。近年香港的獨立書店越開越多，各自代表著不同的價值觀；透過舉辦不同類型的活動，與社區連結。書店是回應時代而誕生的，獵人書店也是一樣，每月更換書店主題，緊扣當下。
「若書只放在一個地方會讓人感到沉悶，以不同脈絡來重新擺放，書會被人重新發現。例如李大英的《第八位中國商人同消失咗嘅海員》，既可以放在新書一欄，也可歸類為小說，當它放在『離散和思念』的主題裡，人們便能用不同的角度看這本書，讓大眾有機會認識一本書的不同面向。」Leticia說獵人書店很「香港」，空間不大卻陳列了不同類別的書、精品文具和二手衫，以及不時辦展覽和活動等。「香港的舖租貴，為了物盡其用而把不同的東西濃縮在一起。我也思考著如何開放多些空間給大眾，如果可以開放24小時也不錯。」
自小喜歡看書的Leticia，小學一年級時曾經向一起乘校巴的高年級學生借閱中文課本，純粹是因為喜歡中文。小三時因為爸爸的關係，成為了金庸的忠實讀者，小學未畢業已看畢整套金庸。「後來接觸衛斯理、亦舒和日本文學等不同類型的小說，大學時對社會發生的事情感興趣，於是便讀很多社會科學的書，希望能解答心中的疑問。」Leticia續說：「近年，書比較像家人。人大了，不如以往經常地看書，但有它的存在會讓人感到安心。有些書被放上了『神檯』，看了很多次，然後一直放在某處，有它便會有一種安心的感覺。當你遇上一些疑惑，拿一本書來看又會得到一個解答似的，所以書像是一個家人的存在。」
除了解答心中疑問，Leticia認為看書也是一種「無用之用」。「如果這地方讓你很灰心，你可以去看看別的地方正在發生什麼事，或去一個小旅行，你總會找到你想要的東西。你想逃避的話，就去看一本小說吧，最重要是保持一個積極和主動的心態，就像獵人一樣。」時刻裝備自己，對環境保持警覺性，看清獵物；看似一直在等待，但時機一到，往往能一擊即中。Leticia把書店名為獵人書店，大概就是這個意思吧。「腦袋不要總是充滿負面想法，只在乾等、傷心和絕望，這世上還有很多東西尚待我們去發掘、理解。」
獵人書店裡的書櫃、沙發、檯子，大部分都是二手的，Leticia會為撿到好東西而高興。「不是因為環保，而是因為窮！（笑）這裡只有一個櫃是買的，其他都是在二手買賣平台找回來的。試過與賣家溝通時，看到對方書櫃裡的書，幾乎可以肯定是認識的人，最後果然是。」看書如看人，看別人的選書，便能對他的個性、喜好略知一二，這方面很少出錯。「我近來正在看日本編輯影山裕樹寫的《重新編集地方》。近來我一直思考除了經營書店以外，有沒有可能創作一些 zine。」Leticia笑言說出來也有點口震，強調尚在摸索階段。「既然有了書店這個地方，能不能創作多一些內容呢？好像日本一些地區，也會出版自己的雜誌，報導地區的人和事，內容豐富，而且相片、排版都很漂亮。香港的深水埗能不能做到？媒體數量日漸減少下，這裡還有被報導的需要嗎？網上擁有如此龐大的資訊，還有什麼是值得實體存在呢？」
在「離散和思念」的主題下，書店在中秋節前辦了一個活動，選了兩本與飲食有關的書，一起討論思念的味道。「如果明天要走了，你最想帶走的味道是什麼？我們以味道來分享一些故事和想念的東西，甚至帶食物來一起分享。」Leticia說，分享時縱有傷感，但最後氣氛還是溫馨的。「離開或留下都是自己的決定，說到底，人生都是自己的。總有一些人選擇留在某些很差的地方，成為某一種人，好像戰爭時有人留下來做護士。最後，我們要思考的是你想成為一個怎樣的人，或是想怎樣過你的人生。」
“All bookstores sell books; but the kinds of books they sell and the way they use their space differentiate them. For example, Have A Nice Stay is run by several former journalists. They host a lot of talks by reporters to promote journalism. Book Punch, on the other hand, runs a lot of campaigns related to local agriculture and pays a lot of attention to civil and grassroots rights. It is a very down-to-earth bookstore. They are all classified as bookstores, but their styles and merchandise are very different. In fact, the bookstore is a ‘carrier’ where ideas are sold, and it’s the different ideas that make the bookstores stand unique from each other,” said Leticia Wong, owner of Hunter Bookstore. In recent years, more and more independent bookstores have opened in Hong Kong. Each of them represents unique values and views and strive to connect with the community through various activities and campaigns. They were born in response to the modern era. Being one of these unique bookshops itself, Hunter Bookstore is set to keep up with the times by showcasing a new theme every month.
“It gets boring when a book is always placed at the same spot. It has to be moved to a new spot based on new context. We have to let it be rediscovered. For example, The Eighth Chinese Merchant and the Disappeared Seamen by Gregory Lee can be placed in either the “new release” or the “novel” sections. But if it is placed under “diaspora and nostalgia”, people might look at the book differently and gain some new perspectives.” Leticia said that Hunter Bookstore is very “Hong Kong” — with only limited space but filled with various categories of books, merchandise, stationery, and second-hand clothes. In addition, they hold exhibitions and events from time to time. “The rent in Hong Kong is expensive. We need to make good use of space and put different things together. I’ve been thinking about how to open up more space to the public. It would be good if we could open 24 hours a day.”
Leticia’s love for books started when she was young. When she was still in the first grade of elementary school, she once borrowed some Chinese textbooks from the senior students who rode the same school bus with her; simply because she likes Chinese. When she reached the third grade, her father introduced her to the world of Jin Yong, and since then she has been a loyal reader of the writer and even managed to finish his entire collection before graduating from elementary school. “Later on, I got my hands on the Wesley series, the work of Yi Shu, Japanese literature, and different types of novels. When I was in university, I became interested in social issues and read a lot of books on social science hoping to find answers to the questions in my heart.” Leticia continued, “In recent years, books have become like a family member. I don’t read as often as I used to anymore, but the mere existence of books makes me feel at ease. There are books that I deeply like and have read many times. Just knowing that they are safely placed somewhere gives me peace of mind. Sometimes when you are in doubt, you can read and come away with some answers from it. That’s why I feel like books are my family.”
In addition to providing her with answers, Leticia also believes that reading is something “useful in a useless way”. “If you feel discouraged by what’s happening where you are, you can go and see what’s going on somewhere else. Take a short trip, and you’ll always find what you’re looking for. And if you want to escape, go read a novel. The most important thing is to maintain a positive and proactive attitude, just like a hunter.” Always stay equipped and alert to what’s going on around you. The wait to prey might be long; but when the time comes, you can always hit the target right away. That’s probably why Leticia named her place, Hunter Bookstore. “Don’t fill your mind with negative thoughts. Instead of just waiting and feeling sad, go discover and understand the world. There are so many things out there.”
Most of the shelves, sofas, and tables in Hunter Bookstore are second-hand, and Leticia seems really happy with what she found. “It’s not about protecting the environment. I am just that poor! (laughs) I only paid for one bookshelf here, and found the other stuff from the second-hand sales platform. There was once, when I was chatting with a seller and saw all those book titles on their shelf, and thought to myself, ‘That must be someone I know.’ And it turned out I do know the seller!” Reading a book is like reading a person. Simply by looking at someone’s book collection, you can guess their personality and preferences; and such a guess is rarely wrong. “I’m currently reading Re-editing Places by Japanese editor Yuki Kageyama. I’ve been thinking whether it is possible for me to do some zines on top of running a bookstore.” Leticia is a little nervous about the idea as she is still exploring. “Now that we have a bookstore, can we create more content? There are regions in Japan that publish their own magazines to tell the world about their local people and life. Their content is rich, and the photos and layouts are so beautiful. Can we do something similar for Sham Shui Po in Hong Kong? As the number of media decreases day by day, do we still need to report what’s happening here? With such a huge amount of information available on the Internet, what is the value of having a physical presence?”
Just before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Hunter Bookstore held an event with the theme of “diaspora and nostalgia” and selected two books related to food for discussion. “If you’re leaving tomorrow, what flavor do you want to take away the most? Centered on ‘flavor’, we shared stories and talked about things we miss. We even brought food to share.” Leticia said that, though things got a bit sentimental during the discussion, the event ended in a heartwarming way. “It’s your own choice whether to leave or stay. At the end of the day, it’s your own life. There are always people who choose to stay somewhere that is less fortunate or blessed. They would turn into a certain kind of person, like someone who stays in a warzone and becomes a nurse. In the end, what we should think about is who we want to be, or how we want to live our life.”
