“书店”原指售书的商店，时下，这一词条的含义已远超字面。狭义书店举步维艰，2007年后的十年里，内地约有5成民营实体书店倒闭。这种风潮并不仅限东亚，美国最大的连锁书店品牌Barnes&Noble销售额连年下滑。号称“世界最美”的荷兰Polare书店位于教堂建筑内，格调无与伦比，但经营模式较为传统，同样惨遭破产。
The main channel for book sales has shifted to online, and since 2010, bookstores that are more "nourishing" are no longer "honest". Hong Kong's Sanlian once opened an open kitchen in the bookstore, while the mainland Fangsuo and Zhongshuge tried their best to highlight the local urban characteristics. Shi Jianlu is undoubtedly the representative of Wuhan bookstore, which is a good interpretation of cultural space. Different groups of people read in the same space or attend readers' meetings without disturbing each other.
Shijianlu is known as the Forest Bookstore, and the store is located in Ma'anshan Forest Park next to East Lake. To get to the bookstore, you have to go through a 1.5km forest path, and the bookstore consists of three buildings, and the finished glyph stands next to the lake. The central building is the main body of the bookstore, and when you step into it, you will find that the appearance of the deer is higher than that seen on the exterior of the building. According to Wuhan's land policy, Shijianlu, located in a natural scenic area, has a lower floor area ratio, which gives the bookstore a wide patio and a large floor height, compared to which all other bookstores in Wuhan seem depressed.
The subtle design of the space is not limited to the height of the ceiling, at the center of the patio is the coffee, cultural and creative goods, paid seating area, and the side is a mezzanine stacking that extends to the second floor. As the height increases, the projection area of each level decreases, and if customers are at the bottom of the patio, they will find that the space is in the shape of an inverted pyramid. From here, customers can see almost the entire space of the bookstore, and if you look up and down, you will find that there are many bookshelves around you, as if you are in a sea of books. In the bottom lounge area (the first floor), there are bookshelves that stand along the wall in a semi-enclosed shape, and this floor has the largest number of books in the library.
In addition to the coffee and cultural and creative areas, the golden book space adjacent to the entrance is a little cluttered. There are biographies of famous people and literary works by well-known authors, and there are also books from a geographical perspective such as "Guns, Bacteria and Steel". Shijian has a large collection of books, but it does not provide a clear enough classification, and the other bookshelves on the first floor also lack hierarchical labeling. On the west side (the side near the lake) the shelves are stocked with literary books, sorted by country; On the east side are humanities and social science books, covering psychology, religion, history, biography, etc. Sandwiched between them, the north bookshelf is the most interesting, with collections of works by Kazuo Kuroishi and Goldsworth in the center, and success books on the side. Every few steps, there are free seats embedded in the shelves, and the number of seats is usually plentiful.
The mezzanine space is dotted with books on film, design, art, magazines, and more. The books are also messy, and even the shelves of Japanese books are labeled as European. In the center of the mezzanine, there is a more intimate space surrounded by bookshelves, and the wooden tables are similar in size to the library selection, making it a comfortable reading area in the store.
In the area on the third floor, you can find maps, tourism and other tool books, as well as political, cultural and military books, the latter overlapping with the history book section on the first floor. The higher I got, the more empty the bookshelves of Shijian Lu became, and the number of natural science books was relatively small compared to the humanities and social sciences at the bottom. Children's books and picture books are located on the south side of the third floor, and the selection is not elaborate, but the free seats are distributed along the wall, and the number is sufficient.
Shijianlu opened in September 2018, and its owner is Nuffen Kebin, which is mainly engaged in hotel business, and the bookstore sector is really cross-border. Thanks to the accumulation of hotel operation, the functionality of Shijian Deer is quite three-dimensional. The bookstore has several separate spaces that are open to members only, and the space environment is extremely quiet. The orchid pavilion on the first floor sometimes exudes the fragrance of sandalwood, and there are original foreign books and award-winning literature. The second floor is suitable for intimate receptions, with a tea room modeled after Japanese style and an elegant living room facing Yujia Lake. The cattery and children's space in the central building are also open to non-members, and there are breeds such as Scottish Fold and British white shorthair. In the children's space, there are many picture books, slides, ocean balls, etc., and all walls and floors in the space have soft protective layers, so that children can play with confidence.
It is commendable that the various spaces in the building appear to be adjacent to the main area of the book, but do not disturb the readers in the main area. Catering, art, large-scale exhibitions, book signings, etc. are more noisy, and the store is arranged in two annexes outside the main building.
Shijianlu intends to open more branches in Wuhan, and its shape and style will not be limited to "Forest Bookstore". Function and space are the strengths of Shijianlu, but as an emerging representative, the placement and classification of books are somewhat chaotic, and there are also defects such as insufficient number of open books.
