When Michael Fredson bought Manticore Books in 2013, small, independent bookstores like his were in “recovery mode.”
For about a decade, starting in the early 2000s, e-books were all the rage. Then, like many forms of new technology, “they tapered off,” Fredson said.
“Any time a new technology comes out, that’s what it does — it captures a large audience for a while,” he said. “In the end, it’s more screen time for us, and we’re all getting sick of that.”
Fredson has seen business at his downtown Orillia store increase every year, and this one is no different. It’s a case of ‘what’s old is new again.’
“There’s a revenge of analog,” Fredson said, taking from the title of a David Sax book. “Print books are back in. Vinyl is back in.”
Not long ago, he said, it would have seemed unrealistic to think independent bookstores and record stores would thrive in the downtown of a small city like Orillia.
“We’re both having fantastic years,” he said of his store and Alleycats Music and Art.
A younger generation of shoppers is taking a renewed interest in independent shops downtown, he said.
“Many malls are dead now. People are finding the niche stores downtown. They’re looking for something different,” Fredson said.
Tradition and modern technology aren’t always in competition with one another, however. Sometimes they’re complementary.
One example is Wonky Donkey. The children’s book was released in 2010. Scholastic eventually took it out of print. It was reprinted in 2018 by popular demand after a video showing a woman laughing uncontrollably while reading the book to her grandchild went viral. Fredson sold more than 500 copies at Manticore.
“It was like Harry Potter sales. It was crazy,” he said.
He has seen more sales of poetry books, too, and he credits that, in part, to “Instapoets” — those who share photos of poems, or parts of poems, on Instagram.
“It’s feeding into the print side,” he said.
Shoppers aren’t the only ones showing interest in small downtowns. There’s a new generation of entrepreneurs, too, and they’re changing the culture of the cores.
“Downtown Orillia is really strong right now. There are new owners, new businesses, new restaurants,” Fredson said, adding that leads to positive spin-off for a variety of businesses, including his.
It also helps to know your audience. Fredson has an Ontario/local section. It features a strong selection of books about Orillia and area. In the summer, he adds more Toronto authors to that shelf, as there are many tourists from the city who stop to shop in downtown Orillia. He also sells local music and art.
Fredson is hoping what’s old really is new again, and that it’s not just a fad.
Best sellers at Manticore
Fiction: Gone to Pot, by Jennifer Craig (winner of the 2018 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour), Warlight, by Michael Ondaatje
Non-fiction: Dam Busters, by Ted Barris
Children: Wonky Donkey, by Craig Smith
