A former typical consumer, Darien Loh, buys newspapers from the airports whenever he flies, but he admitted its booksellers “only carry a few basic publications” these days. At Thambi, where the 44- yr- ancient was buying a couple of sports magazines on Friday, “you get a truly broad collection”, he enthused.
Up till his late youth, Loh lived in Holland Village and did music by the business by himself, mainly for comics and sports magazines. When he went to Thambi during the epidemic to purchase gifts for his daughter, he said he was surprised and happy that the store was still operating.
” The physical touch of the magazines, the smell… You ca n’t compare ( that ) to reading Kindle or even online… You have to be someone who loves to read, whether it’s books or magazines, to know that feeling”, he said.
While Loh was” shocked” by the announcement of Thambi’s looming shutdown, he respected Sam for” sticking to his rules”. He also agreed with the idea that identical shops should be replaced by modernization.
” At least we are aware that Thambi is closing down. Many of the stores I know have simply vanished without my knowledge. Consequently, I thought I’d simply roll by today”, he added.
For Sam, the silver lining was seeing buyers come to buy mags–” not to give ( him ) a payment” just because he was leaving.
” There are still users around and they choose publications. It makes me happy”, he said. ” This is what I want. I want readers to read difficult version. It” touched” my innermostmostmost.