As a teenager in the early 80s, some of my most treasured memories were of the countless hours spent in a small local bookstore called Jodhi Bookstore in Marine Parade. It was packed full of second hand books and I was there every weekend if I could make it and sometimes during the week before or after school. Home was in Chai Chee and school was Tanjong Katong Girls so the bookstore was halfway between the route. The store was nothing fancy but the owners had the best collection this side of the island for romance novels aka Mills and Boon. My first romance novel was bought there and one of the last things I did before I left home to study in London was to stock up on books from Jodhi. My sister and I still have some of the books bought from Jodhi as these were the keepers and not returned as was expected in the second hand deal. I felt the bookstore was my personal library and would sometimes sit there on the floor - no fancy seats or latte to while the reading hours away - reading a whole book before paying for other books to read at home. The (male) owners knew their books and would tell you about latest offerings from your favourite writers and if these weren't available, of when I can expect those books to be returned for purchase. My parents knew that I spent a lot of my time there but they didn't mind as it was a bookstore. If they only knew that their impressionable daughter was learning about love and not literature! In these days of impersonal online buying and ebooks, bookstores like Jodhi provided a chance to talk about the books, make friends and to support local businesses. I wished that I have a photo of this store which was such an integral part of my growing up years but l don't. However the chance to write about this has reminded of a time when life was much more simple yet still enjoyable without gadgets and everything having to be shiny and new. So no photo but I do have the memories and they will stay with me forever.
