One Month at Book Haven

It's been a month now that we have been running Book Haven and it is has been a pleasure! It is great working surrounded by books and booklovers. People ask about how the new job is going, but it's not 'a job' and doesn't feel like work - it really is like going to play every day. I even found myself singing as I cycled to the shop today.

Over the month it has been great getting to know the regular customers and meeting new ones who come through the doors. It's enjoyable talking about books: the smell, the feel and the memories different books bring to people. And it is fun finding those elusive books that people recall reading but can only picture the cover or know a few key words from the title.

We have done some changes to the shop layout and have moved the working space from down the back (where all the packaging of books for the online sales used to be done) to the front beside the shop desk. This means there is a lot more space at the back and the table there is now a public reading space for people to settle in at and read.

One big change we plan to do this coming month is to bring the Freedom Shop in. If you haven’t heard of the Freedom Shop, it’s a small, independent not-for-profit bookstore that has existed in various locations in the city for over 25 years. It sells a range of zines and new books and has been at the back of the Opportunity for Animals for a few years now, usually hidden behind black curtains on weekdays but regularly open on Saturdays. Once they move in to Book Haven their books will be available for sale seven days a week.

We also plan to work with Wellington Zinefest and there will soon be evening workshops run by Zinefest down the back at the worktable.

We do plan to have a grand official opening. COVID willing we're aiming for the start of June, we'll let you all know the date closer to the time. In the meantime, do drop in and say hi, and keep an eye on our web-page.