Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

Andrea Dempster, owner of Bookophilia - Contributed photo

If there is one book store in Jamaica which won't be crammed with anxious parents come late August, as the new school year approaches, it is Bookophilia at 92 Hope Road, St Andrew.

And it is not a matter of running out of books, although Andrea Dempster says she has had to restock Bookophilia twice since it was opened officially in mid-April, with a reading by author and Calabash International Literary Festival founder Colin Channer. It is because there are no textbooks there. Nor academic books, for that matter.

It is much easier to say what is not on Bookophilia's shelves than what is, as the elegantly designed space has sections devoted to magazines (Superman comic books and Mad magazine make the cut); Caribbean fiction where VS Naipaul and Osmond James are among the authors, fiction, health and beauty (Hot Super Sex and Japanese Women Don't Get Old and Fat are among the titles), The Art of War for Business Executives is in the Business section and TD Jakes looks out from the cover of Mama Made the Difference in the travel segment.

Add to all that installments in the Spiderwick series for the young adults and Marx' Kapital for all ages and it is still only an indication of the stock. There is also a 'Calabash' section, where Michael Ondeatje's The English Patient and the festival's Iron Balloon collection reside.

The books are housed in a space where track lighting and a chandelier are used to enhance the atmosphere, eclectic music is played inside and also piped to the small deck outside, beating back traffic from the always busy Hope Road about 30 metres away.

"It is really a space where people can relax, socialise, experience a little bit of the literary arts, musical arts, visual arts and culinary arts," Dempster says.

"It's a space for relaxing and reconnecting."

not a relaxing project

Making that space was not a relaxing project, though, and Dempster says it took about six month to be ready. "The whole place had to be gutted, the walls had to be knocked down, the roof had to be fixed (it was infested with termites). We are still putting in the finishing touches, but people seem to love the space," Dempster says.

Included in the space are a children's room, complete with a reading tent and toys, as well as a reading nook with upholstered armchairs, footstools and a leather sofa.

Dempster says Channer and Super Plus boss Wayne Chen are patrons of Bookophilia, while Justine Henzell, Calabash's producer, "is very supportive. She came when there was nothing but broken-up tiles".

On the visual arts side, Dempster says that all the wall space which is not devoted to books is given over to art displays, making it gallery space.

For now the culinary artistry is limited to pastry, herbal tea and brew from Coffee Traders, Dempster saying "the café will be open in another month or so".

As for opening Bookophilia, Dempster says "it wasn't really a decision. It was just time to do it. You might have a project in the back of your mind and, it was just time ... Plus, I have a passion for books."

"I really enjoy it," Dempster says of running Bookophilia, "If I spend extra hours on it it does not feel like work. It sounds cliché, but it's true."

There is another cliché which the response to Bookophilia has given the lie to, yet again. "There is this thing that Jamaicans don't read, which is a total fabrication. The response has been really, really positive."

research

The people are really buying the books. Kids come in, dragging their mothers. Children are really using the space too, which is something we really encourage them to do," Dempster said.

While the London Times, New York Times and Barnes & Noble listings are studied for books to stock up on and local best-sellers, also a must at Bookophilia, Dempster says research was done on readers at last year's Calabash International Literary Festival and online, as part of the book-selection process.

"It will come down to personal choice and knowing your market," Andrea Dempster says.

"The only rule is we are not doing academics and textbooks."