Bookstore to keep city passionate

 

By Debby Seng Wai I

 

 

Every Sunday afternoon in “My Book”, a bookstore near A-Ma Temple, a woman in her 30s, is always busy organizing books, preparing for coming guests -- kids and their parents.

 

A few hours later, a lot of parents take their children along with them, to attend the entrance fee-free book club organized by the bookstore’s owner, Cheang Cheng Man.

 

“When I was a child, my mother used to read after putting me to bed,” said Cheang. “This memory of her reading, so attentively under the table lamp imprints in my mind till now.” What Cheang’s mother did deeply impressed her, making her become a “bookworm”, and even started her own business as a bookstore owner.

 

High rents in Macao make running a physical bookstore difficult. However, Cheang viewed it differently. She said, “I just want to let more and more people know the benefits of reading. I don’t care too much about the money thing.”

 

Cheang used to be a Chinese and Moral Education teacher until she suffered from a serious disease a few years ago. She decided to pursue her dream -- opening a bookstore after she recovered from this fatal illness as she finally realized that it was time to live a meaningful life. Therefore, she quit her job and became a bookstore owner.

 

“I love to read the books which are inspiring and informative, especially those that have unexpected twists as my mind can be entertained and enriched at the same time.” Cheang said.

 

The books sold in “My Book” are mainly from Taiwan. Cheang explained it’s because the reading culture in Taiwan is strong and the books there are worth reading.

 

As Cheang is a bookstore owner now, she reads about 200-300 books per week, far more than what she did before establishing “My Book”. Now she even has to read while commuting in buses.

 

Regarding Macao people’s smartphone addiction issues, Cheang commented, “I agree that people in Macao usually focus on their phones when commuting in buses. I think what I need to do is to encourage people to focus on books, instead of phones, so that reading in buses isn’t weird anymore.”

 

Nowadays, many teenagers are addicted to smartphones; they are always browsing with their phones. They would rather play online games, chat with a friend by smartphones than grab a book to read. “Actually, teenagers also like reading. Maybe there are just no people who recommend some good books for them,” she said.

 

After she set up her bookstore, some schools invited her to organize book discussion clubs, book fairs and writing classes. She recalled that a primary student said he would like to read the full version of “Investiture of the Gods”, an ancient Chinese novel. Cheang was very surprised and inspired as it proves that teenagers like reading as long as books interest them.

 

Macao might not be an ideal place for building your career as a bookstore owner, but Cheang emphasized, “It costs a lot of course. However, I don’t consider money my first priority as you know, life is short. We should focus on doing something that makes us happy and content. And I feel quite fulfilled running this bookstore.”