Living not at home

~  Warning: this post is 1,300 words which is longer than usual for this blog. Get comfortable before you start reading. Livraria Velhotes is a 15-minute walk from where I live: turn left at the top of our street, go past the ruined house with the goats in the garden, past the kindergarten, the football field, the jujitsu studio, the water reservoir and just before you reach the high school the bookstore is on your left.  One of the partners, Pedro Carvalho, told me about the history, spirit and practice of the bookstore. In this edited transcript of the interview, Pedro talks about financial survival, publication in Portugal and the relationship between a bookstore and its community.  Lawrence: How can an independent bookshop survive in this era of multinational publishers and online bookselling? Pedro: Over time the bookshops in Vila Nova de Gaia have been disappearing, and the same with secondhand bookshops.  Vila Nova de Gaia, as you may have noticed, is one of ...