Turn Up the Volume
- TJ Smith
- Jun 23, 2017
- 2 min read
No shitty jokes here, folks! My bookstore reviews are not nearly as crappy as my toilet ones but rest assured I'll still try for a bunch of cringey puns in amongst them!
So here we begin. There exists in Nelson, New Zealand, a small newly opened bookstore by the name of Volume. Located on the cutesie little one way Church Street, Volume is a hole-in-the-wall kind of affair. Although small, it doesn't feel cramped due to large glass windows at the front and the owner's carefully picked (and not overly large) selection of books.
I can say for a fact that I definitely freaked out over this bookstore. I'm the kind of person that can't walk into a book shop without buying something and Volume was no different except this time it was special. Walking into Volume felt like I was walking into someone's home library and, like any personal collection, their selection was beautifully eclectic. I may have squealed like a pig once I got out of the shop just from the excitement of it all. The books were meticulously organised into genres but not sign posted so you didn't feel like you were in a store. This is the kind of book store that you go with intention of spending a bit of time there and, with a lovely wooden table and chairs in the centre, they obviously want you to do just that!
I've only been the once thus far and I spent half an hour in there just looking at one shelf of books. I think I probably looked a little mad; pulling every book on the shelf out and reading the blurb then making a little huffing noise and putting it back. My college student wallet was screaming at my impulse-buying brain to get a grip!
They also do a bunch of cool competitions! The current one is the Spam Poetry Competition; grab some junk mail and write a poem using only the vocab from the mail. It's so neat! They have an online presence including a very active Facebook and a thoroughly aesthetically pleasing Instagram!
If you're ever in Nelson, take a trip down Church Street and I promise you that you won't regret it! Whether you're a reader, a writer, both or neither, Volume will have something that piques your interest!
Check out their website and mosey on down to Volume at 15 Church Street, Nelson!
