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Sunny Bookshop to close down in August 2014

Local bookstore and institution Sunny Bookshop will close its shutters for the last time on 20 August, reported media outlets.

According to The Straits Times, its current owner, Melissa Low, has decided to shut down the business because of rising overheads, changes in reading habits and the lack of people interested in taking over the shop.

Sunny Bookshop, which specialises in renting out second-hand books, was previously located at Far East Plaza but shifted to Plaza Singapura in 2010 after 25 years.

Beloved among a generation of Singaporean readers for their down-to-earth, friendly service and reasonable prices, Sunny Bookshop faced a declining customer base with the advent of mega-bookstores like Borders and Kinokuniya.

While Singaporeans feel nostalgic at the closure of Sunny Bookshop, most acknowledge that it was just a matter of time.

Photographer Valence Sim, who is in his 30s, was a loyal customer at both their Far East Plaza and also Plaza Singapura locations.

"I am a fan, I used to patronise them when I was in secondary school to buy second-hand books, especially Jeffrey Archer novels," he said.

"I feel like another piece of my "growing up" is gone," said bank analyst Lynn Teo, 34, who would trawl the dusty shelves of Sunny Bookshop as a teenager.

"I remember taking hours to decide which romance novels I wanted to rent and counting if I had enough money to take out more than one book at a time. I will definitely miss it."

"I think that it is unavoidable that Sunny Bookshop [will] close down, firstly with large bookstores like Page One and Borders not even able to keep afloat here and also with rising rents and the popularity of e-books," said marketing manager Julia Yang, 34, who used to patronise the store when she was a student.

Calls to their Plaza Singapura shop were not answered.

Were you a fan of Sunny Bookshop? What memories do you have of the store and how do you feel about its closure?