boss of a growing bookshop empire, is a leader of this counter revolution. he s made buying physical books cool on both sides of the atlantic. how? james daunt, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. i used to use paper cash. i pretty much don t anymore. i used to write checks in a checkbook. i certainly don t do that anymore. why are you so convinced that iwill, still, continue to use ink on paper, physical books, for years to come? books remain, i think, by far and away the most pleasurable way, and most memorable way, to read most books. you can read on an e reader, of course, and that will have some advantages, particularly for some sorts of books. and millions and millions of people across the world. and millions of people happily do. and the numbers are growing. and the numbers are not growing, actually, within developed markets. in the uk, the us, for example, i think, pretty much, it reached a peak and then came down to a level and is now steadied out. lots of people enjoy d
of mariupol has been condemned by ukraine. an aide to president zelensky called the russian president, a criminal returning to the crime scene. it was the first time mr putin had been to a newly occupied ukrainian territory. now on bbc news hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i m stephen sackur. in a world fixated with the unstoppable march of the digital revolution, it s kind of refreshing to look at what s happening in the old school business of selling books. ink on paper has not been eliminated by the rise of the e book, and the good old bricks and mortar bookshop hasn t been wiped out by online shopping. my guest today, james daunt, boss of a growing bookshop empire, is a leader of this counter revolution. he s made buying physical books cool on both sides of the atlantic. how? james daunt, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. i used to use paper cash. i pretty much don t anymore. i used to write cheques in a chequebook. i certainly don t do that anymore. why are you so convince
the most effective way to read a book, which is not true of how we listen to music, for example, it s actually much better digitally and much more convenient and money and all the rest. but with books it isn t. perhaps there are other factors. i mean, for a start, you can download pretty much any book that s ever been written in a millisecond on a smart tablet. so, that s convenience. there s also a, sort of, environmental question. i mean, you make profits from selling books. books, ultimately, are made of carbon. and, frankly, they do look, in our efforts to get to a carbon zero world, a decarbonized world, they look like something we should get rid of. i think i would sort of argue, though, that they have an enduring and remarkably durable role to continue to play, if it s a good book. i mean, i think that,
and all the rest. but with books it isn t. perhaps there are other factors. i mean, for a start, you can download pretty much any book that s ever been written in a millisecond on a smart tablet. so, that s convenience. there s also a, sort of, environmental question. i mean, you make profits from selling books. books, ultimately, are made of carbon. and, frankly, they do look, in our efforts to get to a carbon zero world, a decarbonized world, they look like something we should get rid of. i think i would sort of argue, though, that they have an enduring and remarkably durable role to continue to play, if it s a good book. i mean, i think that, ideally, as booksellers, we sell good books. well, it doesn t matter if it s a good book or a bad book. well, no, but a good book goes onto a bookshelf. it s reused multiple times. and at its apogee, it s obviously in a public library and it s read multiple, multiple times and lent. but even our own personal libraries, our children read them, w