Book stores work harder than ever to survive

Bookshops are a sort of oasis away from the hustle and bustle but have had to diversify and work hard to survive, writes Michael Moynihan

I DO not understand how one can buy clothes without trying them on, and as for books, the individual book should seduce and inspire you to buy it.

When Charles Rosen wrote those words — for the New York Review of Books, fittingly — he articulated many people’s view of a bookshop as a haven. An oasis. A tranquil alternative to the hustle and bustle.