A new bookstore in Goa’s Panjim celebrates the joy of picture books and pre-loved books.
Image: Courtesy That Book Store.
Once upon a time, during the American Great Depression, women librarians would travel on horses and mules carrying books to remote parts of Kentucky. This Pack Horse Library or ‘book women’ travelled great lengths to serve families and schools, providing reading lessons and reading matter to the Appalachians. Their story is immortalised in the 2008 children’s book, That Book Woman, by Heather Hensen. Many years later, an avid reader sitting in Goa decided to turn to that book for inspiration in naming her bookstore.
Between the pages
And thus, That Book Store was born in 2022. The bookstore was the culmination of Barkha Sharda and Kumar Chitrang’s year of doing pop-ups, attending markets and events, and promoting picture and second-hand books. Tucked away at the back of a residential building on a shaded lane in Altinho, the bookstore makes its presence felt by a cat logo. A black cat with a pink nose looks out enquiringly at people passing by. The couple love, and have cats, and one day hope to make them residents at the store. For now, the only animals are found in picture books.
It was the birth of their son in 2019 that proved to be the catalyst for Sharda realising her dream of opening a bookstore. The former educator at The Learning Centre in Moira gave up her job to be at home and her desire to offer her son quality children’s books that went beyond the bestsellers and white authors compelled her to work at curating books for others, too. “I always wanted a bookstore but never thought I could do it,” says Sharda. In the pandemic, the idea took form.
A page-turner
Last October, they did their first pop-up at the Dasya Family Flea in Porvorim. Then, Hilltop Market came calling and very soon, they were doing at least three markets/ pop-ups per week. Gradually, an Instagram page was created and a WhatsApp group — through which they would send out curated book lists to interested people. Sales picked up by word of mouth. “Being at these markets helped us connect with a lot of interested people,” adds Sharda.
A physical space was always in the works. This August, the right place fell into their laps. “The space was just enough. And no matter how many people visited, it wouldn’t get too loud,” she explains. That Book Store occupies one large room, neatly divided into two parts: One for books to buy, and a reading section.
The books are curated, but not in the usual manner: Shelves hold ‘books with many stories’ (anthologies) or ‘books with no pictures’ (adult fiction). The Reading Room invites people to come spend the day browsing through books of their choice, for Rs 99 (per day). This section has quite a collection of adult books, including graphic novels.
The couple started with picture books and a few adult options and now sell some new books too; priced lower than MRP. Every book in That Book Store has been handpicked; they do not seek donations but buy their own books from wholesalers selling remaindered books. As the curation isn’t by theme or geography, it makes browsing fun. For those who like a little risk with their reading, they have a section of surprise books bags — wrapped books with one sentence offering a clue about its type/ genre.
It’s all about the written word
That Book Store is a worthy addition to Goa’s small but eclectic collection of bookstores and lending libraries. Last week, Bengaluru-based Champaca Books opened their first branch in Anjuna, offering an eclectic collection of writing, and a dedicated section for Goan literature. Many of the bookstores, like That Book Store, champion second-hand books — “think of it this way, these used books also have their own stories beyond what’s written in their pages”.
In the North is The Flying Goat, a café and pre-loved bookstore that has over 5,000 books (all for sale; except some rare books, art books, and some coffee table books that are for in-house reading only).
In Anjuna, but functioning largely online, is Booktique, which delivers books to your doorstep (on a cycle). Calangute has Literati, a bookshop and café offering new, second-hand and antiquarian books.
Down south is the popular Dogears Bookshop, an independent bookstore that also takes donations and sells second-hand books.
Image: Joanna Lobo.
The future of That Book Store is busy. Sharda wants to work with organisations to organise book swaps. This week, they conducted the first edition of their book club — “a literary club, really” — inviting people to share their own and other’s writings on the subject of grief. Coming up are book fairs, workshops for children at different spaces, a stall at Serendipity, and in-house workshops. And, if all goes well, there will soon be cats accompanying your reading sessions.
That Book Store is located in Altinho. Open from Friday to Tuesday, 12 to 8 pm. Membership is Rs 99/day, Rs 299/week and Rs 999/month. This is not a lending library. Average cost of books on sale is Rs 200.
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