Blossom Book House

Located on Church Street, right across the bowling destination Amoeba, Blossom’s is one of my favorite bookstores. Whether you are looking for a seconds at a good price or if you are looking for new books, they have it all. This is one bookstore that seems to divine what the customer is looking for. For example there was a time when I was hunting for Herman Hesse. I was basically stocking up on every Herman Hesse I could lay my hands on, as I was completely blown by Steppenwolf and Damien. I walk into Blossom’s one Saturday afternoon, and there’s this whole stack of Hesses… the complete collection! I picked them all up.

A typical Saturday afternoon at Blossom, you’ll find people crowding every aisle between the huge rows of books. You would definitely come across men toppling over books stacked precariously in the corners and women taking their pick of romances in a cozy corner of the 1st floor. Go to Blossom after reading the Hindu Literary Supplement and you will find those books there.

The store is spread over 3 floors – Ground floor with the billing counter and display of popular and recently published books, 1st floor is the fiction and children’s section, the 3rd floor is the non fiction section. The entire place is crammed full of books, stacks of them from floor to ceiling. The 1st and the 3rd floor books are appropriately categorized, though you may find it a little confusing at first. The first floor of fiction is categorized into Classics, Fantasy, Crime, Indian writers, Plays/Poetry, Literature, Romance, Erotica, Fiction, Wild West etc. At the children’s section you get to see your childhood favorites like Enid Blyton or Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys. The 1st floor also contains a very good collection of Comics – Phantom, Superman, issues of MAD, Archie’s, Tin Tin, Asterix etc.-all at bargain prices. The 3rd floor contains books on Language, History, Management, Computers, Psychology and a lot of assorted others.

My favorite section is the one at the extreme right corner on the 1st floor. It’s got an excellent collection of all my favorite writers – Doris Lessing, Hesse, Daphne Du Maurier, Camus. This is not a specially categorized section but it could possibly be fit into Modern Classics. At times the sections are a little mixed up. For instance, the Indian writing section ranges from Pakistani writers to Naom Chomsky or you would find Erica Jong and Jodi Picault jostling among the Georgette Heyers. But the place grows on you. The owner, Mare Gowda is well read and can advise you on books. Some of the attendants too know exactly where to find a particular book or author. Or if you just want to browse, there are stools placed in every narrow aisle.

The best part about this store is the bargain prices. Most of the seconds would cost between 80/- to 100/-. If the book is tough to come by it may be costlier. The new books are always offered at a discount of at least 20%. Recently I went to the Strand Book exhibition and picked up a couple of books. One book in particular, cost me Rs290 there. Imagine my disappointment when I saw that the same book cost Rs200 at Blossom. It is a year round exhibition for Blossom. One could experiment with writers here; explore new genres and authors at little cost. You could come back sell it all to Blossoms at 50% of the amount you paid for it.

Recently they have taken to displaying books down the steps leading to the entrance of the building. This started during the launch of the latest Harry Potter mid 2007 and the trend continues with children’s books. So that’s another landmark for you, though I have laid out a map here to guide you to this place. Believe me, it’ll soon become your favorite hangout! :)