New Mong Kok bookshop opens with 2,000 titles amid indie bookstore closures

Grace Lau has opened New Year Bookshop in Mong Kok, placing more than 2,000 new and second-hand titles on its shelves as independent bookshops in the neighbourhood face a wave of closures.

The 41-year-old owner invested a six-figure sum in the venture, including a one-year lease for what she describes as a passion project. Lau’s decision was driven by her passion for books and by lower rents, although some people in the community regarded it as a bold gamble on Mong Kok’s literary future.

A new literary space above Mong Kok’s streets

New Year Bookshop is housed in an upstairs shop on Sai Yeung Choi Street South. The roughly 600 sq ft store opened on Sunday with a collection spanning literature, history and philosophy.

The launch comes as small independent bookstores in Mong Kok face a difficult period. Such shops, often tucked inside walk-up tenement buildings above the neighbourhood’s neon-lit streets, have long served as a sanctuary for Hong Kong book lovers.

Recently, however, one shop after another has been forced to close because of economic headwinds or political uncertainty. Against that backdrop, Lau’s investment represents an attempt to establish a new independent bookshop in the neighbourhood despite the trend.

Source: South China Morning Post