Hsinchu’s longest-running second-hand bookstore to close down after 45 years
Hsinchu’s longest-running second-hand bookstore to close down after 45 years
2023-02-17
A second-hand bookstore in Hsinchu is about to shut down after 45 years in business. Book lovers in Hsinchu have been taking refuge in Seaside Books since 1978. It was founded by a post-war Chinese immigrant, who then passed it on to his dear friend. Now owner Huang Shou-yu is finally ready to call it quits. The locals are now rushing to spend a few more precious moments in their beloved store, and pick up a bargain at the same time.
With the rise of online retail, bricks-and-mortar bookstores like this one are a vanishing breed. This eye-catching blue sign, reading “Seaside Books,” has hung here for 45 years. But now, the owner is preparing to close the shutters for the last time.
Resident of Hsinchu
There aren’t many stores like this. These days, people don’t love books that much, nor do they value them. So I think it’s really a pity for a store with as much warmth as this to close down.
Resident of Hsinchu
Back in the days when we weren’t so affluent, sometimes students actually couldn’t afford books. Seaside Books offered relatively low prices. I bought lots of novels from here. Then I married and had children, and when my daughter was small, we often came here to buy children’s books.
Located near Hsinchu Train Station, Seaside Books is the oldest second-hand bookstore in Hsinchu. It has been a stable fixture and a comforting sanctuary over the decades for countless local book lovers.
Huang Shou-yu
Seaside Bookshop owner
It’s a really tough decision for me. I took the store on 18 years ago. I’ve been wanting to close down for about a year now.
Store owner Huang Shou-yu has kept the business going for many years, in memory of a beloved friend. Forty-five years ago, Chinese nationalist army veteran Chen Yao rented the store and opened "Seaside Books," naming the store to reflect his love for his homeland across the Taiwan Strait. Over 27 years, he and his landlady, Huang Shou-yu, became as close as family. Before his death, he handed the store over to her.
Huang Shou-yu
Seaside Bookshop owner
Some of the books are still in great condition. At the very end, I will sell them off more cheaply.
Huang has reluctantly placed all her stocks out for sale with discounts, for a final clearance. She plans to close for the last time within a month or two. In the meantime, she hopes to give the store a send-off fit for a local treasure.
不敵網路書城! 竹市最老二手書店吹熄燈號
2023-02-17
新竹南門街上有間最老二手書店＂海邊書坊＂，開業近半世紀，卻不敵網路書城，即將要吹熄燈號。在地民眾聽聞消息，依依不捨趕來道別。老闆同樣很捨不得，因為這間店其實也承載了老榮民租戶與家人成長的重要回憶。
隨著電子書及網路書城的興起，傳統書店生存大不易，這塊大大的"海邊書坊"藍色招牌，一掛就是45年，如今卻也準備吹熄燈號。
[[新竹市民眾]]
“滿少這種店家，這個時代，對書的感情跟價值都沒有那麼高，所以我覺得這種比較有溫度的店，就這樣收掉，真的滿可惜的”
[[新竹市民眾]]
“當年其實物資比較缺乏的時代，有時候其實學生買不起新的書籍，海邊書坊就提供相對廉價，很多的小說，到了我自己成家立業，我女兒在小時候，我們也常常來這邊找一些童書”
海邊書坊位在新竹火車站附近，是新竹市最老的二手書店，陪伴愛書人走過求學到成家立業。
[[海邊書坊老闆 黃守玉]]
“真的很捨不得，接手也接了18年，一直想要結束，差不多有一年的時間了”
老闆咬牙苦撐多年，因為書店背後，是一段跨越兩岸，最真摯的情感。45年前，隻身一人來到台灣的榮民陳堯的榮民，租下店鋪，取名海邊書坊，以懷念海峽對面的家鄉。經營書店27年來，陳堯與屋主一家親如家人，臨終前，將書店託付給屋主。
[[海邊書坊老闆 黃守玉]]
“(書況)有的還很好，到最後面的時候，比較便宜把它賣掉”
滿懷不捨的心情，老闆將庫存打折，大拍賣，預計一到兩個月後收攤，也要利用這段時間，好好跟書店告別，將最美好的記憶，塵封心底。
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