On the shelves of the small local on rue Beaubien, a biography of David Bowie rubs shoulders with an essay on the Spice Girls and a hip-hop writing manual by Webster. The owner of the new Résonance bookstore, Jean Lavigne, explains it straight away: the growing popularity of the book since the start of the pandemic has encouraged him to realize an old dream of opening his shop specializing in music and popular culture. .
The current context has “shaken up” his plans. “At 55, I found myself faced with an important choice to make: try to keep my bed and breakfast on Saint-Denis Street alive, or give up everything and reinvent myself by launching my bookstore. I didn’t hesitate for long, ”he says with a smile.
Music lovers and simple amateurs should easily find what they are looking for here. In the Rosemont – La-Petite-Patrie establishment, which opened in mid-November, you can find everything related to music: biographies, autobiographies, comics, sociological essays and even historical stories. A section has even been reserved for children. A graphic book that illustrates the words of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, With a Little Help from My Friends, was actually Mr. Lavigne’s very first sale.
“It’s a dream come true,” he says. I was always like a kid in a toy store when I was in a bookstore. So having mine is even better. “The idea of specializing in music appeared during his research, as an” obviousness “, specifies the one who describes himself as a fervent music lover, a great consumer of concerts and an eternal curious about everything. which directly or indirectly touches the middle.
Barely three weeks after opening, he is delighted with the reception his bookstore receives. “I would say about one in three people walk away with a purchase. There are the curious who stop to discover the place. And there are music lovers who come in looking for a particular book. […] They help me refine my research. “
Because in addition to ensuring the permanence every day, advising customers and recording orders, he himself does all the research to stock his shelves. “It’s fascinating, because it’s the sharper books that appeal the most, books that tackle broader music-related movements, such as feminism, racism, LGBTQ communities, and so on. Adapting to his clientele is also his main challenge for the coming months. “That and survive,” he laughs. But I trust the book is not going to go away any time soon. “
The craze continues
Jean Lavigne is not the only one to have launched into the void by making the bet to open a new bookstore in the midst of a pandemic. According to the Association des libraires du Québec (ALQ), thirteen new independent bookstores were opened during the health crisis, including nine in 2021. If, in return, five establishments had to close between March and December 2020, only one has gone out of business this year. This is the Paulines bookstore in Trois-Rivières.
This growth can be explained in part by the great popularity of the book during the pandemic. Confined to their homes for a good part of the year 2020, Quebecers have immersed themselves in reading to pass the time. And despite the reopening of cinemas, theaters, museums and even performance halls, reading seems to have remained standard practice in 2021.
According to the most recent data compiled by the Société de gestion de la Banque de titres de langue française (BTLF), overall bookstore sales were up 25.3% at the end of October, compared to the same period last October. last year. Remember that the year 2020 ended with an overall increase of 2.5% in bookstore sales compared to 2019, despite the forced closure of stores, schools and public libraries for several months.
“We allow ourselves to advance that the pandemic will have really succeeded in creating new readers and made sure that occasional readers become more assiduous readers”, rejoices the general director of the ALQ, Katherine Fafard.
The craze for reading is also felt on the side of the large book chains, which are not part of the data compiled by the BTLF. Sales continue to increase in Renaud-Bray and Archambault stores, where fiction is enjoying huge success this year. In Carcajou bookstores, the increase in sales is estimated at around 30%. And this, despite the “various glitches” that the community has had to overcome recently, such as the shortage of paper or delays in overseas transport, argues Élise Massé, responsible for online orders.