Interview with Karen Stretch, partner at ‘Look Into Books’, Cleveleys

1. For someone who loves books as much as I do, walking into a book shop is like entering an Aladdin’s Cave. Have you always loved books, and is that what persuaded you to want to open your own book shop?

Oddly enough, I have memories of playing ‘bookshop’ as a little girl – often I would write my own ‘books’ and get the toy cash register, and voila! I loved to read, and would often have three or four books on the go at once. It was always a treat to go to the book shop and get the next Noddy book in the series, and later the Famous Five stories. Book shops are so rare these days, and I think it’s important to continue the joy of reading for future generations.

2. What genre of books do you find are your best sellers in Cleveleys, or does it vary day to day? I know you keep a weekly list of your best sellers, and wonder if they follow any kind of trend in and out of the holiday season?

Our best sellers usually follow a nationwide trend – basically anything with lots of publicity on T.V. or radio, or anything with a film adaptation does well. There’s not too much variance in summer but at Christmas biographies certainly sell well.

3. A lot of independent book shops seem to be struggling in the shadow of the major book outlet companies, yet you recently moved to larger premises. What do you see as the secret of your success in the book selling industry, or is that really a secret!

I don’t know if it’s really a secret, but we pride ourselves on providing a service that you wouldn’t get at a chain store. We know our customers and can see what they want from the ground level, so to speak, and we aren’t controlled by a head office somewhere hundreds of miles away. Our ordering service is quick and we enjoy our little chats with our customers, who hopefully enjoy chatting with us! It’s nice to have face-to-face interaction with a person rather than a book arriving in a cardboard box.

4. Do you welcome the chance to meet authors, and enjoy book signing events? Do you see this as a way to attract more customers to your already popular shop?

It’s exciting for us to be able to meet authors and run events with them. Providing a hub for the local community is one of our key aims and events are a good way of achieving this. I think especially in a town like Cleveleys which has a large seasonal population as well as year-round residents it’s important that the town has a strong identity and community.

5. What do you see as the future for ‘Look into Books?’ Do you have further ambitions that you have yet to realise.

To continue to provide the people of Cleveleys with a local, independent book shop which they can rely on.

Thanks very much for your great answers, Karen. I wish you every success with your fantastic book shop. Looking forward to meeting you again at my book signing for ‘Caution: Witch in Progress’ on Saturday 14th September at 1pm!
Look into Books, 132 Victoria Rd West, Cleveleys, Blackpool.

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