(And katie/maude/katie, this is how the commenting system works: if you are a new commentator here at 4th Ed, I need to approve your comments before they appear.)

“Lif was a bookshop for people who dont like books very much”.

As a regular customer of LiF I am quite offended by that! Now I don’t know where to buy my books. Certainly not amazon or any other souless trader. I will miss the bookshop. I had some good debates with the owner including a firey one about Irene Nemirovsky’s better work (david golder in my view).

They used to order some obsure titles for me and managed to track most down. Where else can i get that service now in the west end? Not the rotten bargain book shp. Or sleepy hyndland. Pah!

I always consider it sad when small independent businesses cease trading. And I would encourage you to put what i suspect is an element of bookish-snobbery aside (an attitude only too common in the industry!) and rather than relish in the opportunity to be critical, reflect on what a sad indication this is of how the book industry is suffering, especially our beloved independents who work hard to inspire people to return to books for pleasure and intellectual development. I, for one, had never encountered a bookshop before which was home to a teenage reading group – surely, something the owners of LiF should be commended for? LiF may not have been everyone’s cup of tea and we can all express our opinions on it, but you’d gain more respect by doing it with a little less ‘glee’! And, as for your claim about the bookstore lacking personality – I found it charming and with bags more personality than the godforsaken borders and waterstones of this world.

I wish the owners well.

@Mooncalf: I should get around to snapping a photo, shouldn’t I?