Bookstore Guide: Tackle and Books, Tobermory

Where? Tobermory, Scotland, UK

Recommended by Cristina Cona

"Are you going to spend some time on the island of Mull, and wondering whether you’ll have to bring books from the mainland for those long summer nights when you can read by natural light until ten o’clock? Don’t worry: you can get your reading matter from Tackle and Books, in the gorgeous village of Tobermory. The shop is located on the seafront (its red and dark-grey façade appears on a number of postcards) and caters to all kinds of needs. There is first of all the book section, which has a very satisfying choice of both fiction and various aspects of nonfiction (nature guides, local and Scottish interest, children’s books, language – both Scots and Gaelic); there is a stationery and business services section; some CDs and DVDs; an area where you can buy fishing and outdoor tackle, and last but not least, a really invaluable stock of midge machines. At least some BSG readers will regard this as a surprising item for a bookstore, but you must know that midges are a real plague in most parts of Scotland and can make life impossible to walkers, fishermen, nature lovers, and generally anybody who likes to venture out in soft, moist weather. No reading under a tree when the little so-and-so’s are around! So it makes perfect sense to sell these machines alongside the books.”

If choosing a specific area of interest you feel passionate about and specializing in it is the way to go for a bookstore in a competitive metropolitan market, it's most likely not so when your business is located in a small village on an island... So what to do then? Judging by the example of Tackle and Books, if you wish to succeed in an environment like this, you should select the widest range of topics and things you feel passionate about and then get them all under one roof. The common link is clear, as long as there's passion behind it, you have a good chance of surviving.

Besides the incredibly wide offer of this shop it is also quite famous for its location. Tackle and Books was established some 30 years ago in premises which previously housed a butcher, a baker, a chemist and a grocer and they kept some of the original furniture. As the shop is among the colorful houses lining the harbor, it can be spotted on most photographs of the town of Tobermory.