Canberrans catch the reading bug in COVID-19 lockdown

Despite less foot traffic and some store closures, book sellers have welcomed focused shoppers, eager to read.

"[George Orwell's] 1984 is flying out. We keep saying we should put it in non-fiction," Henry Hartog Bookstore literary events coordinator Katarina Pearson said.

Ms Pearson and store manager Kathryn Henry noticed dark times had increased the appetite of readers for dark and dystopian fiction, with many customers looking to read The Plauge by Albert Camus.

Readers were also looking for optimism. QBD chief executive Nick Croydon said self-help and mindfulness books became popular as readers looked to improve themselves.

At Harry Hartog there were high sales of Julia Baird's Phosphorescence: On Awe, Wonder and Things That Sustain You When the World Goes Dark.

"[Phosphorescence] was written before [COVID-19] happened and it really touches on the essence of what we are going through now," Ms Pearson said.

Ms Pearson and Ms Henry said readers were exploring books and authors they had never had time to read.

An example was the popularity of historical fiction author Hilary Mantel, who recently released a new book The Mirror And The Light.

"[Mantel] has got a really big following and of course they are always enormous books and people now have time to read them," Ms Henry said.

"People are also buying her back list because it's always something they've wanted to read but not wanted to spend the time to read it."

Mr Croydon said sales in children's education books spiked at QBD, while Ms Henry and Ms Pearson were delighted to see more children at Harry Hartog stores.

"We've noticed a lot of primary school-aged children really getting into reading which is fantastic because they've got the reading bug now," Ms Henry said.

How-to books, focusing on topics such as repairing and mending, photography and cooking were also popular as Canberrans took on new hobbies.

"A lot of books on repairing things, and a lot of books on mending and suddenly some people want to learn that," Ms Henry said.

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Henry Hartog stores in Woden and at the Australian National University briefly closed their doors.

"After the initial lockdown, when people couldn't come into the store, there was this great joy about being able to come in and browse books again," Ms Henry said.

QBD was able to operate its stores during lockdown. While there were less customers, sales still boomed.

"A lot of people came to stores hungry for books," Mr Croydon said.

"There was less foot traffic but very focused customers. Conversion rates doubled. [Shoppers] were not coming in for a walk, they were on a mission."

Mr Croydon said the escapism of a good book could ease the anxiety of readers.

"When you read a really well-written book you get sucked into each page and you don't want to put it down and that takes your mind off everything else that's going on around you," he said.

"It relaxes people, it entertains them and takes them away from things they are worried about."