How does Bookselling Impact the Environment | Pearl Press

There are a few issues which really drive the way bookselling works in Australia.

It’s hard for people to buy books that bookstores do not have - so publishers overprint,  deliver them to so many bookstores who can then RETURN the ones they don't sell. Sadly as a result there must be a lot of book pulping going on.

We resell so many pre-owned and antique books - which directly reduces this problem . Without stores like ours consider the impacts of printing, transporting, and returning now that’s not helping the planet… but a pre-owned book instantly reduces this problem massively.

There is no reprinting,  there is no return to pulp or landfill, and you get the benefit of having this beautiful object in your hands.

There is nothing wrong with reading on a screen (this blog for example!) But it is different from reading a beautiful Folio Society edition of a classic. 

Digital books and audiobooks are great – but sadly, they seem to be the province of people who are already voracious readers.  Few young people develop a love of reading literature from screens or audiobooks. Rather, they are an added convenience for established readers.

We are a proudly Australian bookstore, but if you are reading this, there is little doubt that you are among the minority of Australians who regularly read.

Even if you are giving books to others as a gift, it is probably because you value reading yourself.

The Booksellers Association has said that the average Australian reads three books per year.  This seems disappointingly low. In Australian schools, English is compulsory right with a focus on literature in senior years through to 18 years, so there must be a disappointing fall off that cliff once the school scaffolding structure is removed.

Anyway, since this blog is likely preaching to the choir (you already believed when you joined up and you probably heard someone else preach already) - I will just say thank you!  (And encourage you to encourage others to read pre-owned books.)