1So Jane you'll be off to Denmark soon to do your work placement.
2Yes, I'm really looking forward to it
3and I've just started packing up all my books to put in storage.
4Well, I hope they don't get spoilt.
5It's okay, my grandfather works in a bookshop
6and he told me how to pack them.
7Oh, that's helpful.
8He says you have to support the spine
9otherwise the paper can come away from the cover.
10Yeah that's obvious.
11He also told me to pack them flat in the box, not on their side,
12again because they can bend
13and if you leave them like that for, say, a year,
14it's quite hard to get them back to their normal shape.
15Well, it's pretty clear that ruins them,
16but a lot of people just can't be bothered to protect their books.
17He always says it's such a shame that publishers don't use better-quality paper.
18It's the acid in the paper that causes the problem, isn't it?
19Yeah, that's why old books go yellow.
20You know some of the books my grandfather's given me are like that already.
21I should dump them really if they're going to deteriorate further, but I'd feel bad.
22They'll always remind me of him.
23He's quite a collector, you know.
24Well, if they're important to you...
25Yeah, I'd regret just throwing them away.
26You know, maybe it's because I was taught to treasure books...
27But I hate seeing students force open the pages of paperbacks.
28They press so hard they end up breaking the spine.
29I know,
30but unfortunately, paperbacks aren't designed to last a long time and people know that.
31Hardbacks aren't quite as weak.
32Yeah, they're different, I suppose.
33But I still don't think people value hardbacks like they used to.
34Well, they aren't decorative, are they, like other objects.
35Plus, nowadays, people don't keep them out on shelves as much as they used to.
36That's such a pity.
37When I visit someone,
38if they have, say, a colourful book on a table, it's the first thing I'm drawn to.
39I agree,
40and book covers can be a work of art in themselves.
41Some are really eye-catching.
42I've always been taught to handle books carefully.
43If you watch someone take a book off a shelf, well, they usually do it wrong.
44Ah, my grandfather says, you should put your hand right over the top of the book...
45Or, if you can't do that,
46pull the other books on the shelf aside so that you can hold the whole cover.
47When did you learn all this?
48He watched me pull a heavy book off the shelf when I was small,
49and it fell on the floor and broke apart.
50Oh dear!
51Ah... I can still remember it!
52You know what I really like?
53What?
54The smell of new books.
55Me too.
56My parents used to laugh at me when I was a kid because I loved putting books up to my nose.
57Almost as much as reading them!
58New books aren't cheap, though, are they?
59I guess we're lucky we can buy them.
60My grandfather stocks second-hand books as well as new ones
61and they don't smell quite as good.
62I'd love to have a bookshop like your grandfather.
63What's it like?
64Well, it's quite big.
65It's got two floors and an attic,
66and he stocks all kinds of books really.
67I guess he treasures things like first editions and other rare books.
68Yeah, you might think he'd keep those in the attic or somewhere...
69So they'd be hidden?
70Yeah.
71But he likes people to know that he has them.
72So, he puts them out in the shop but makes sure you need a ladder to get them.
73Right. That would prevent any thefts!
74Does he stock books for children?
75He does.
76He particularly likes to encourage kids to read;
77he always says that he used to sit under the stairs as a child with a pile of books and read them all.
78Is that where he keeps them, then?
79Not exactly.
80He's got a dedicated area on the ground floor with cushions
81so that parents can enter with their toddlers,
82go there and spend some time reading to them.
83Oh cool.
84And then there's a place for pushchairs by the front door.
85And a café if anyone needs refreshments.
86That's good to know.
87As I said, it's a big shop
88and there's a storage area out the back as well.
89Oh, what does he keep there?
90Books he wants to throw away?
91He hardly ever throws anything away.
92He just leaves unwanted books by the front door for customers to take.
93Well, that's very nice.
94And books people or institutions have requested, they all go at the far end.
95He thinks it's best to keep these out of the main shopping area as they're boxed and new.
96Did you get your coursebooks from him?
97Naturally.
98He stocks books for a lot of the colleges.
99He used to keep these books on the first floor,
100but now there's a new university in my hometown,
101he's moved them downstairs to attract the students.
102They're actually part of the coffee shop, on low shelves all around it.
103Pretty central then.
104You'll have to take me there some time!