Whenever I travel I try as much as possible not to carry along any books. Bibliophiles among you will realize how difficult this is. My reason is simple, though. I find that wherever on the globe I may happen to be, I will invariably stumble upon good books, more often than not rare treasures, long out of print. So here I am again in Nanyuki, with nothing to read save a day-old newspaper. But I have no worries on this score. I know an hour’s walk around town, and the peripheries, will surely unearth something.
I am walking along headed towards the Dol Dol stage, as it is known locally, when I spot a rack of magazines at the door of what proves to be one of the more interesting bookshops it has been my joy to patronize. I stop to glance through the magazines and the selection is quite eclectic: National Geographic, Soldier, People, Getaway, Men’s Health, Drum and dozens more. Wisdomlink Bookshop is located in Nyakio Building, squeezed between a butchery and a grocery shop. Blink twice and you will sail right past, totally missing the door. The shop has a quaint air, and I immediately think of Dickens’ Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. The proprietor, a bespectacled, scholarly-looking gentleman is behind the counter browsing through what appears to be a carton of new stock. The shelves are literally overflowing with books: Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park is cheek-by-jowl with J.G. Ballard’s Empire of the Sun. I spot Esther Njiro’s A history of Africa in the 19th century right next to farming tracts, some dating back to the fifties. This is a veritable treasure trove and certainly a must-visit for any book lover in Laikipia and beyond. Intriguingly one wall is adorned with kangas. This garment proves to be very popular with the women folk and, during the course of our conversation, he sells quite a number. Indeed at one point he is obliged to call his wife to assist him when the traffic threatens to overwhelm. Stationery items, also in stock, appear to be in high demand as well. The bulk of sales, though, appear to be on used and new primary school textbooks. Mr Charles Njenga is not averse to a chat and I make myself comfortable in the spare chair, prepared to spend a pleasant hour talking books with the genial bookman. Our chat is interrupted several times, mostly by anxious parents looking for textbooks; my host is up to the task, and there is hardly a textbook in demand that he does not immediately produce.
Mr Njenga started dealing in books in 1973. For the historians, this is the year of the Yom Kippur war, in the United States of America Nixon was rapidly sinking in the Watergate scandal, independent Kenya was just ten years old, and the local airwaves were solely the province of the state broadcaster, The Voice of Kenya. After Mr Njenga completed his formal education, his father took him into the business, the then United Stores. He eventually branched out on his own setting up shop in the current premises in 2007. It is a business that he appears to be comfortable with. I feel a tinge of envy; I really wouldn’t mind spending my waking hours surrounded by books. In answer to my concern that novels and non-academic works appear to hardly move, my host laments the decline in reading habits, especially reading for pleasure. This is a worldwide phenomenon and electronic entertainment probably takes the lion’s share of the blame. The proliferation of cheap dvds, the Internet, 24 hour television, innumerable video games have spelled a near death knell to the book industry. That and sheer laziness from the educated who stop reading anything more challenging than a restaurant menu the minute they step out of school. But there is a significant minority that does treasure books. One that reads regularly enough for Mr Njenga to keep the faith. He remembers a time when his entire sales came from novels but now it seems that the majority of people will read only if there is an examination involved. In addition to outright sales he also offers that uniquely Kenyan ‘library’ system: buy a book outright the first time around; return it when you are done and exchange it with a fresh choice for a fraction of its cost. For readers who do not necessarily want to surround themselves with books this is a most convenient way to support a reading habit. Others like me find it well-nigh impossible to let go of a book, once it lands on my bookshelf. Mr Njenga sources most of his book from Nairobi and supplies come in at least once a fortnight. Readers around Nanyuki also drop off their ‘reads’ especially those leaving Laikipia altogether. From an economic standpoint Charles Njenga does not appear to have too many grave worries. The textbooks alone easily make it worth his while for his days at the shop. It is clear however that his first love remains novels. Sifting through them is a joy only a book lover will understand. This is a dusty area and this is probably the driest month of the year. But the dust only adds to the air of antiquity. The sense of stepping back in time is heightened by the coolness of the little room and the shadows in the far corners. I come up with a rare collection of short stories by W. W. Jacobs and a 2006 copy of Wanderlust. Pure gold. . So if your taste runs to conservation or maybe you enjoy the twists in the tale from Jeffrey Archer, Charles Njenga has just the article for you.
