It's probably not the best question to ask a bookseller, 'how do you compete with Amazon?' but Linda Pickering at ‘The Cat's Whiskers' in Nice has a good answer. "I don't, "she replies,"but I try to keep as many books as possible in stock, so a buyer can buy immediately and not have to wait for delivery." She also tries to recommend a good read, "when customers ask, that's when booksellers come into their own."

People do like to talk about books and a personal recommendation will usually trump the opinion of a faceless critic. The book recommendations at the ‘The Cat's Whiskers' must be pretty good because the shop just celebrated its 21st birthday.

Finding something to read in english wasn't always this easy. Back in the 1980s it often required a trip to a Nice airport bookstall to find anything current. Now there's an array of locally produced english language magazines and whereas in 1985 a paper like the Daily Telegraph would hit Riviera news stands two days late, now it's printed in France and available the same day, usually the same morning.

Books, though, are more complicated and it takes experience for sellers to know what titles to keep in stock. At ‘The Cat's Whiskers', children's books, ‘summer holiday reads' and guide books sell well. As do books set against a Riviera backdrop, for example, the old favourite ‘Perfume in Provence.' Surprisingly the majority of ‘The Cat's Whiskers' customers are French. The shop is not on the main tourist trail and relies on locals who like to read English novels in their original form.

The imminent threat from computer books and the relentless onslaught of the online book giants may eventually spell the end for small friendly book shops like the ‘Cat's Whiskers' but for now trade is brisk and I recommend you go there and take a browse. Linda's current book favourite is Sam Savage's 'Firmin'. "It's always easier to recommend books you have thoroughly enjoyed but I must have pushed this one too hard, there are none left!"

The Cat's Whiskers 
30 Rue Lamartine
Nice 06000

Tel: +33 (0) 493 800 266

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