Underground Bookseller Tour
There are more than 60 booksellers in Johannesburg of all types, some most of us wouldn’t even think of and not all of them ‘bookshops’ in the way most of us would expect. But wherever they are, those booksellers prove that a high percentage of Johannesburg’s population are big readers. The tour explains how books move through the underground economy and reveals the history of bookselling in Johannesburg, from the first black-run library, through the days of censorship and book burning, to how readers today find books in inventive ways. I saw booksellers in street markets, a Nigerian importer, and books in a spaza shop, next to the bread. We also heard about how Bridge Books started, another incredible story you’ll have to find out for yourself.
During our 3-hour tour, I saw parts of Johannesburg everyone should see, but many won’t because it seems such a schlep to get there (which it isn’t) and…. it’s in the CBD… but then if I’d listened to the negatives I would have missed some of the most beautiful architecture and a market humming with the scent of fresh fruit and veg, without plastic packaging. Along the way, we stopped at the site of the original Central News Agency building, the City Library, sadly closed for repairs (come on City, it’s been 3 years already!) and finally the Rand Club to see James Findlay’s Collectibles – maps, ancient posters and row on row of books in old binding.
My message is simple – DO THE TOUR. https://bridgebooks.co.za/
