When you've spent so much money in one bookshop you figure you might as well buy the whole shop, you know you're buying a passion.

That's exactly what Scott and Sheree Brown did when they purchased long-established bookstore Books A Plenty in Grey St, Downtown Tauranga, late last year.

And it seems their passion, combined with a global trend back to books is proving the right move. With e-book sales declining to around just seven per cent, young readers growing daily, and ‘BookTok' and ‘Bookstagram' holding their own on Tik Tok and Instagram, Scott and Sheree are riding the crest of a growth wave

'We looked globally at what was happening in bookshops,” explains Sheree. 'They're bigger than ever!

'With Covid, reading has taken off again and independent bookshops globally have taken on a second life.”

With a solid trend back to the tactile book and massive growth in classic novels and young readers, Scott says it's good news for the industry. 'New writers are pushing the industry forward, broadening the offerings to meet demand from growing sectors.”

Having an established and loyal customer base helps. 'The shop's been here for more than 40 years,” says Sheree.

'It's an iconic destination. I think that's the same for a number of the local, family-owned boutique stores in the city centre.”

Whether you're restocking your reading pile, keen on checking out the latest best sellers, or hunting for that hard-to-find book, check out Books a Plenty's more than 6000 in-store titles or jump online: www.booksaplenty.nz