Lackington’s Temple of the Muses.

Here’s my latest piece at the Guardian on-line:

Now that the holly is finally decked out, many of you will doubtless be hustling to your favourite bookstores to pick up the latest books of the year. While some will make a point of patronising local independents – those charming ones with the unrivalled personal service – more of us will, with perhaps a twinge of guilt, leg our way through the crowded aisles of Waterstone’s …

 There was, of course, a time when these big, high street shops weren’t around – at least not where I live, in Canada. I well remember the day the first one came to Ottawa. They gutted an old Woolworths downtown, several blocks away from the Peace Tower, and when the Chapter’s store finally opened it wowed all who entered: deep, pillowy armchairs, gleaming hardwood floors, the scent and sound of Starbucks percolating up and down in the sleek adjoining coffee shop … and furlongs of multidimensional, multi-topical books lining the walls. It was a kind of mod-library where you could hang out, buy what you read, and make an afternoon of it.

Despite the collateral damage of some small publishers being screwed over, a narrowed selection of titles, and the eventual rationing of stuffed seats, this place, and others like it, revolutionised…

For the rest, please go here.

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