Books / Features
‘There’s a book for everyone and a person for every book’
The founder of a second-hand bookshop in Bristol says he originally had no plans at all to open such a shop.
Second Page is – for now – in the Galleries, where Simon Tracy keeps 100,000 books in various locations within the shopping centre, with only a small percentage of his stock on the shop’s shelves.
It all started for Simon three years ago when he visited Avonmouth tip and saw a huge container full to the brim with books.
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After speaking with a former volunteer at the tip, Simon discovered there was a book bank there, sparking his interest and leading him to become the new volunteer.
Around 10,000 books a month are given to the book banks at Bristol’s tips – now officially known as reuse & recycling centres – which sell mixed loads of paperbacks and hardbacks to companies like World of Books for £20 a tonne, who essentially pay less than a penny per book.
Having spent a month sorting through the books, Simon said he soon realised there was the potential of a second-hand bookshop “and this could be a business”.
Just some of the many books at Second Page in the Galleries – photo: Lydia Lewis
Simon said that “without really thinking about it”, he offered to pay the recycling book bank 50 times what the large online companies do, to which they agreed.
For 18 months, in addition to his volunteering, Simon went through the book bank and collected the books he wanted.
Safi, Simon’s daughter, helped by selling books on eBay and Amazon.
Simon admitted that the process of selling the books online “wasn’t much fun… you don’t meet anyone”.
But he said he “didn’t really realise that was the missing thing” until he was told that he was able to get a relatively cheap shop in the Galleries. “So, I came and investigated that.”
“If you’re going to have a general second-hand bookshop, it’s got to be big,” said Simon, who over the course of 18 months had collected around 100,000 books.
The process of moving the books from the containers he had rented to the Galleries was “really labour intensive… and played havoc health wise. I was struggling physically.”
With the help of volunteers, Simon was able to move the 100,000 books to the Galleries in March 2023 and opened the shop in August that year.
“One thing that has happened since opening is that volunteers just keep coming,” he said, giving special thanks to Mia Morton-Smith and Joe Boyce-Dawson.
With their help, Simon has been able to “create the bookshop that I wanted to have, one where everyone feels welcome and that there’s a book for everyone”.
Volunteer Joe Boyce-Dawson at Second Page – photo: Lydia Lewis
Simon added: “It’s not all about rare books and expensive books. We’re trying to build the biggest collection of second-hand paperback fiction so that if you’re looking for a book, there’s a really good chance you’re going to find it.”
Simon also shared his gratitude for the support he has received including book donations from customers and a grant from Bristol City Council.
He said: “What I really like about the story I’m telling you is that the Bristol public take books to the book bank, I brought them back into the city where other people in Bristol would like those books.
“We’re just like a massive recycling operation and in an area that I love. It’s a lot of fun.”
Simon is currently waiting for the lease of the old Savers shop in the Galleries which he has now transformed into what he likes to call “the warehouse” despite having another warehouse in the basement of the Galleries already.
When asked about his plans now that the Galleries’ demolition is confirmed, Simon told Bristol24/7 that he does not believe the closure of the Galleries is imminent.
However, he does have plans to transform the shop into a community interest company, creating “a book shop, a restaurant, a cafe, a music space, and a cultural art centre that is centred around books”.
Simon feels hopeful for the future of Second Page: “I used to think that some books would never sell. But not only is there a book for everyone, but I tell the books that there is a person for every one of them too.”
Main photo: Lydia Lewis
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