... or connect online over good reads
Who says online bookshops cannot have that human touch?
Wormhole (wormhole.com.sg), a Web bookstore founded in October, accompanies every order with a personal note, recommends books on Instagram, and plans to run quiz nights, a book club and other physical pop-up events.
Admittedly, going online was not its first choice. Its founders – who met when they were studying business marketing at the Singapore Institute of Management – had wanted a bricks-and-mortar store.
But the cost of rent was prohibitive, says co-founder Seet Siew Ling, 33, a freelance copywriter who used to work in bookstores and had enjoyed interacting with customers there.
“Having to start as an online space during the pandemic and rely on word-of-mouth was what motivated us to think outside the box, get creative and get to know our customers without meeting them.”
Wormhole now has more than 180 titles, from Sally Rooney’s 2021 novel Beautiful World, Where Are You to Jeremy Tiang’s story collection It Never Rains On National Day (2015), as well as film magazine Beneficial Shock!.
It also tries to bring in limited quantities of titles from independent publishers overseas, such as South Korea-based Atnoonbooks.
Also on the site are bags, cards and stickers as well as – surprisingly – animal adoption listings. Ms Seet is a dog lover, while co-founder Charmaine He, 30, who works in finance, prefers cats.
Sales have been heartening so far, Ms Seet says. They receive 20 to 30 orders a month, with about one to two books an order.
Wormhole is one of at least two Web-only bookstores that have sprung up during the pandemic.
Another is Thing Books (thingbooks.shop), which specialises in artists’ books, zines and independently produced printed matter.
It was founded in February by Ms Renee Ting, 30, director of the Singapore Art Book Fair. It currently has more than 50 titles – ranging from works by Singaporebased Temporary Press to French graphic designer Olivier Lebrun.
Other Web bookstores here which started without physical storefronts include OpenTrolley Bookstore and second-hand retailer Thryft.
Art books are still considered niche here, Ms Ting says. “There are very few dedicated and perennial platforms in Singapore that promote artists’ books and zines.
The Singapore Art Book Fair happens only once a year, which is not enough if we want to deepen the interest and appreciation of artists’ books.
“We believe everything adds to the ecosystem of art book publishing – the more there are opportunities and platforms to promote artists’ publications, the more visibility there is, hopefully more artists will be encouraged to make books, and maybe that will generate more interest from the public.”
She observes that since the art book fair was conceived in 2013, there has been a steady increase in the number of small presses and artists’ books here.
This year’s fair will have a record 94 exhibitors from Singapore and abroad at the Singapore Art Museum at Tanjong Pagar Distripark.
She finds being online-only limiting, as the best way to experience art books and zines is to hold them in one’s hands. But the alternative would be to pay thousands of dollars in rent and overheads – something she is not prepared to do.
Besides physical pop-ups at events like the art book fair, Thing Books will also create video content and sell more artists’ objects and book-related merchandise.
“We want to make art accessible to people who don’t usually step into white cube galleries, people who think art is intimidating and difficult to understand,” she says.
“It doesn’t have to be about dumbing it down for them, making it ‘Instagrammable’ or compromising on the artist’s practice. An artist can do both: He or she can present an exhibition and make a book, and they both function in different ways.”