Traces of Books

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.


 

人們去逛書店,不一定會買書,「逛」本身就是一種享受、一種參與、一種發現的過程,就像去世界各地旅行,書本成為窺看世界的一扇扇窗口。假若逛書店的人不買書,書店不賣書,又會是一場怎樣的相遇呢?

「開店是因為我有一個mission,生命如泥土,人生的經歷如一雙手,不斷地塑造生命的形狀。多年前埋下的種子,成為了我的信念、職業,也是開書房的第一步。」足跡書房(Traces of Books)的店主Map說。走進位於炮台山的富利來商場,經過長長的電梯,走到商場的盡頭,有一間帶點英式風格、細小而精緻書店。打開綠色的大門,頭頂一盞通透綠色的燈罩,散發著柔和溫馨的黃光;人走進去被兩旁的木書架包圍著,眼睛卻被窗外的大樹所吸引,樹影婆娑,像一幅會動的畫。這大概是每個人心中理想的書房的模樣,一個樸實、熟悉又秘密的空間。與其說它是一間書店,倒不如說是一間迷你圖書館。「心理、語文、歷史、烹飪、小說、漫畫、宗教、兒童書,什麼類型的書也有,甚至是報紙雜誌、咸書(高質的)也有呢!這裡的書大部分都是人們捐贈的,當然我也會作嚴格挑選。」沒有章法的排列,眼睛掃過密密麻麻的書架時,總會有意外驚喜。

書房不賣書,歡迎人們前來看書,或帶自己的書來看,甚至是不看書,純粹來坐坐也可以,沒有最低消費,也沒有限時入坐。「很多人問這樣的一間店,如何賺錢,如何營運。實際上,賺錢不是開書房的目的。足跡書房是一個安全、舒服,像包圍著人的身軀般,可以放鬆身心的地方。」在這個寸金尺土的城市,這樣的一個地方會不會太奢侈?「我會說,我賺到的是人的心靈,賺到了快樂。」

When people visit bookstores, they don’t necessarily buy books; the act of visiting is itself a pleasure, a kind of participation, and a journey of discovery. Just like traveling around the world, books offer a window for us to see the world. If visitors to bookstores don’t buy books, or bookstores don’t have books to sell, what kind of encounter will there be?

“I opened the store with a mission. Life is like mud, and life experience, like a pair of hands, forms its shape. This mission has become my belief, career, and has inspired me to take the first step in opening a bookstore,” said Map, the owner of Traces of Books. Walk inside Fu Lee Loy Shopping Centre in Fortress Hill, take the long escalator up, and walk til the very end of the corridor where you will find this tiny, exquisite bookstore decorated in a traditional British style. Push open its green door and you walk into the soft, warm yellow light exuding from the transparent green lamp shade above your head; there are numerous books on the wooden shelves on either side of the wall, but what catches your attention is that enormous tree outside the window. For many, this would certainly be an ideal bookstore—a simple, familiar, and secret space. Instead of “bookstore,” one might call it a mini library. “Psychology, language, history, cookery, novels, comics, religion, children’s books… we have all kinds of books; even newspapers, magazines, and pornography (high-quality ones)! Most of the books are donations, but I do screen through them carefully.” The books are randomly placed on the packed shelves making it easy to be surprised while scanning through the titles.

It is a bookstore that does not sell books. People are welcome to come and read. They can bring their own books, or simply just come to sit and relax. There is no such thing as a minimum charge, nor a time limit. “A lot of people have asked me how such a bookstore can make money and how do I run it. In fact, making money is not the reason why I opened the bookstore. Traces of Books is a place where people can feel safe, comfortable, and relax as if they are being embraced.” Isn’t it a luxury to have a place like that in a city where land is extremely scarce and expensive?  “I would say that enrichment of the soul and happiness is what I’ve gained.”

f.6 book shop

「經歷了這幾年,香港人也應該很辛苦吧?尤其是年輕人,受到的衝擊也不少。我認為休息、哭、與人傾訴和看書都能帶來力量。我的爸爸是一位山區的老師,經常書不離身,他對我有很深的影響,他會跟我分享他喜歡的書,和我一起看書,想起來也是一件很浪漫的事。他相信知識能為生命帶來轉變,能為社會作出貢獻。我也相信書本能夠提升我們的想像力,並轉化成力量。」Map說,當你走到書櫃面前,你以為你在選書,但她認為是書選擇了你,要你今天來讀它。「曾經我在書房邊看店邊看書時,與一位陌生人對望,他問我在看什麼書,開展簡單的對話。他跟我分享他正在讀的書,而這書正讓他感動落淚。」

「我相信在人生不同階段,會被不同的書所吸引。我小時候喜歡看亦舒、瓊瑤、金庸和衛斯理,好像是《流金歲月》、《燈火欄柵處》等,讓我經常看到書不離手。尤其是《流金歲月》一書對我來說很有意義,我和我的女性好友就像兩位主角般,經歷嫉妒、誤會、分離,現在仍是好朋友,以單純的心維持這份友誼。這本書淺白易明,很能觸動我。那時候,我要離開香港,我們交換了這本書,並在封面上簽名和留言,見證著珍貴的友誼。」

訪問Map時,她正身處澳洲,疫症下過著一般的隔離生活。「雖然人不在香港,但也可以繼續開店!書房是一個能夠細水長流的地方,不因什麼事情而輕易關門。在這麼多不正常的事情發生之下,我們更需要維持日常的生活。我在這邊認識了一位俄國人,他的家人正在烏克蘭,聊天起來很有共鳴。讓我相信即使改變不了世界,也要讓自己不要忘記,要堅守自己所相信的。」

這個看似無人看管的空間,卻有著自己一套的存在方式。「除了開門和關門,其他的事情都是self-service的。前來的人自己看書,義工每星期來幫忙清潔整理。來看書的人,我會稱他們為足跡者,他們都懂得尊重,知道這裡可以做些什麼。這種狀態已經5個月了,我覺得香港人真的很自律。開始時也會有『會不會有人偷書呢?』的想法,但開店至今都沒有發生,而且我也是nothing to lose。」

“I suppose Hong Kong people must be exhausted having gone through so much in the past few years. The young people, especially, have been greatly affected. I think taking a rest, crying, talking to others, and reading can all bring strength. My father teaches in a rural school and always has books with him. He influences me deeply; he’d share with me the books he likes and we’d read together. It’s actually quite romantic when I think about it. He believes that knowledge can bring change to people’s lives and in turn make a positive contribution to society. I also believe that books can inspire us to imagine and transform that imagination into power.” You might think that you are picking a book from the shelves, but Map thinks that it’s the book who picks its reader. “There was this one time, when I was reading while minding the store, I locked eyes with a stranger. He asked me what I was reading, and from there we started a brief conversation. He told me about the book he was reading and how he shed tears because he was deeply moved by it.”

“I believe that people get attracted to different kinds of books at different stages of life. When I was young, I liked to read Yi Shu, Qiong Yao, Jin Yong, and Ni Kuang. The Golden Years and In the Dim Light are definitely page-turners for me. The Golden Years, in particular, meant a lot to me. A girlfriend of mine and I are like the two protagonists in the book; we went through jealousy, misunderstanding, and separation, yet, we are still very close friends . This book is easy to read and touches my soul.  At that time, I was leaving Hong Kong, so the two of us exchanged this book after signing our names and writing a message on the cover. The book is like a testimonial of our precious friendship.”

Map was going through quarantine in Australia while we interviewed her. “Even though I’m not in Hong Kong, the bookstore is still open! A bookstore is a place where people can take things slow and it shouldn’t be closed so easily. With so many abnormalities happening everyday, we need to continue living a normal life. I met a Russian here whose family is in Ukraine, and I felt connected while chatting with him. It made me believe that even if I can’t change the world, I should never forget and always stick to what I believe in.”

This seemingly unattended space exists in its own way. “Aside from opening and closing the store, everything else is self-service. People come to read, and there are volunteers who do the clean up every week.  I call those who come to read the ‘footprinters’. They all know how to respect the space and are aware of what they can do here. The bookstore has been running like this for five months already, and I think Hong Kong people are highly disciplined. At the beginning, I also wondered, ‘Will people steal the books?’ But nothing like that has happened since we opened. I have nothing to lose anyway.”

f.6 book

與Map聊天,她不時會笑說:「年青人,要加油。」話語間的親切和滿滿的鼓勵,這大概是與她做社工有關吧。「我的工作讓我有很多遇見人的機會,做社工能明白人的行為,了解背後的原因。十八歲時,我去了美國讀書,一位唸社工系的交換生跟我分享了他在夏日營裡拍的相片,其中一張是一位黑人小女孩,她站在樹上笑得很開心。這讓我很好奇她在營裡做了些什麼,為什麼這女孩會笑得如此燦爛。那時候心裡突然冒出一團火,很想做這件事。畢業後,我做了15年生意,輾轉間,又回到校園唸社工,並當起社工。」因為工作的緣故,Map更理解人的需要。「很多時候,人只需要一個空間,卸下重擔,安靜地與自己相處。」

初次來到富利來商場,是因為紙上(Shijo Gallery)舉辦的展覽。一邊逛一邊驚嘆著,原來這舊式商場已悄悄地起革命,新式的花店、雜貨店、精品店,還有藝術空間。創意與熱情為這個地方帶來滿滿年輕活力,像再次被用心琢磨的鑽石,發著閃閃光芒。「南叔主動活化這個商場,是一個奇蹟。這裡是一個充滿人情味的地方,很多年青人、藝術家、有夢想的人在這裡做想做的事,這裡是一個被祝福的地方。我希望我也能夠一直做下去,直至做不到為止。」

When we chatted with Map, she’d always say , “Young people, do your best.” Being so approachable and encouraging is probably due to her work as a social worker. “My job offers me a lot of opportunities to meet with different people. As a social worker, I can understand people’s behavior and the rationale behind it. I went to study in the United States when I was 18. An exchange student who studied social work shared with me some photos he took at a summer camp. One of them shows a little black girl standing on a tree, smiling happily.  It made me wonder what she did at the camp that made her smile so big. At that very moment, I felt like I was on fire and I really wanted to do it. Yet, I worked in the business for 15 years straight after graduation. Years later, I went back to school again and eventually became a social worker.” Because of work, Map is good at understanding people’s needs. “Most of the time, people just need a place to unload their burdens and spend time with themselves in peace.”

I first visited Fu Lee Loy Shopping Centre because of an exhibition at Shijo Gallery. As I walked around the centre, I was amazed by how this once old-fashioned mall had quietly transformed itself into a venue that houses trendy flower shops, grocery stores, boutiques, and even art spaces. Creativity and passion brings along tremendous vitality into this old shopping centre making it shine once again . “Uncle Nan is making a miracle by revitalizing this shopping mall. It is a place full of love and care. A lot of young people, artists, and dreamers managed to do what they wanted to do here. This is a blessed place. I hope that I can stay here as well, until the day I can’t do it anymore.”

bookshop owner
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