‘The stigma is melting away’: Why Aussies are flocking to this unexpected bookshop
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Book trends come and go, but every now and then, one takes the literary world by storm in a way no one saw coming.
A quiet shift in reading habits has been unfolding, challenging long-held perceptions and proving just how powerful the right story can be.
What seemed like a niche interest has now become a mainstream movement, drawing unexpected crowds and reshaping the way people view an entire genre.
A long queue snaked down the street in one of Sydney’s most exclusive suburbs, all for something surprisingly wholesome—romance.
Scarlett Hopper, a 28-year-old romance author, once worked as a nanny while chasing her writing dreams, but she soon spotted a glaring gap in Sydney’s book market.
In September 2024, she opened Romancing the Novel, a bookstore in Paddington that exclusively sells romance books.
It may seem like a niche concept, but Ms Hopper was confident the demand was there.
The 28-year-old had been immersed in the romance reading community since her early twenties.
She had been reading romance since she was 15, but she had noticed a major shift online.
Romance has always had a loyal readership, but the genre’s reputation—once dismissed with an eye-roll—was rapidly changing.
‘The last five years, there’s been an absolute resurgence,’ she said
She added: ‘I don’t even know if the right word is resurgence because it has always been popular, but I think it is related to social media, as crazy as that sounds.’
‘The stigma is melting away and people just don’t care anymore.’
While romance is booming, one of Australia’s largest online bookstores has met a very different fate.
Find out what led to Booktopia’s sudden collapse and the impact it has left behind.
Read our full report here.
Have your reading habits changed over the years? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
A quiet shift in reading habits has been unfolding, challenging long-held perceptions and proving just how powerful the right story can be.
What seemed like a niche interest has now become a mainstream movement, drawing unexpected crowds and reshaping the way people view an entire genre.
A long queue snaked down the street in one of Sydney’s most exclusive suburbs, all for something surprisingly wholesome—romance.
Scarlett Hopper, a 28-year-old romance author, once worked as a nanny while chasing her writing dreams, but she soon spotted a glaring gap in Sydney’s book market.
In September 2024, she opened Romancing the Novel, a bookstore in Paddington that exclusively sells romance books.
It may seem like a niche concept, but Ms Hopper was confident the demand was there.
The 28-year-old had been immersed in the romance reading community since her early twenties.
She had been reading romance since she was 15, but she had noticed a major shift online.
Romance has always had a loyal readership, but the genre’s reputation—once dismissed with an eye-roll—was rapidly changing.
‘The last five years, there’s been an absolute resurgence,’ she said
She added: ‘I don’t even know if the right word is resurgence because it has always been popular, but I think it is related to social media, as crazy as that sounds.’
‘The stigma is melting away and people just don’t care anymore.’
While romance is booming, one of Australia’s largest online bookstores has met a very different fate.
Find out what led to Booktopia’s sudden collapse and the impact it has left behind.
Read our full report here.
Have your reading habits changed over the years? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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