The Book Junkie

Ishmael Samad, also known as The Book Junkie is TnT’s new favorite book collector. If you’re familiar with the Manzanilla stretch I'm sure you would have noticed the little book shop amongst the fruit stalls, emplaced within the long rows of coconut trees, overlooking the rough, never-ending Manzanilla Beach. Visiting the Book Junkie would be the perfect road trip for a book lover!

What we refer to as the cute little book shop, Mr Samad calls the greatest discovery of his life. While taking a group of persons on a tour to the Nariva Swamp he would have spotted the then dilapidated shack and immediately thought “Book shop!”. After making inquiries he learned that he just had to pay a peppercorn* rent and the shack was all his. 

His love for books started as a young boy who would venture to the San Juan Library every Saturday to read his heart away. Since then he’s always been consumed by books, working in several book shops throughout his youth. As a former activist he is very interested in humanity but also noted that the tragedy of the human experience truly saddens him. For this reason, history books in particular are his favorite genre, he pays particular interest to books related to the Holocaust. We also  had the pleasure of listening to him read a couple lines from one of his favorite books .

Mr Samad says that the collective wisdom of the human experience is stored in books, and in him wanting to understand the world through books he also wants other people to be a part of this experience. Many people would come to the book shop looking for their favorite genres, mainly fiction, he stated, but what he intends to offer is more than just a purchase. He wants people to come and experience  the beauty of Manzanilla, read a book, have a chat while enjoying the fresh country air.

Of course we had to ask about his Caribbean Literature collections, which he stated that he is currently working on building as patrons have been showing a growing interest in it. He went on to show us the different Caribbean books he has currently, as a lover of history of course Eric Williams, CLR James and VS Naipaul were in his collection. 

After showing us his personal library in Kernahan Village, he took us out back where he went on to talk about his goals for his book shop. “I want people to come and experience out here” he said gesturing towards the beautiful forest enveloping his library, this forest is known as the Nariva swamp which he referred to as Trinidad’s best kept secret. He’d like to transform his personal library into a spot where people from the village and TnT can come and take a break from their regular life, maybe a cafe in the woods?

Most importantly, Mr Samad lamented that what he needs most is support,  renovating his library is definitely costly and can tend to take a toll on him sometimes. So of course, if after reading this you’d like to assist Mr Samad in any way possible, feel free to reach out to him.

If you or anyone you know would like to assist Mr Samad, feel free to contact him on Facebook-The Book Junkie, or via contact : 18683784609