In the age of TikTok and shrinking attention spans one teen is bucking the stereotype by running a bookstore.
Pari Rao, 15, has opened a second-hand book shop in Palmerston North. She says she's passionate about getting teens reading. Photo: RNZ/Jimmy Ellingham
Pari Rao, 15, has spent months getting her second-hand shop ready for its doors to open this week in Palmerston North.
A voracious reader, she's passionate about others experiencing the joy of the printed word.
So, Olive Books, in the city's artistic centre, Square Edge, was born.
"In early April we were watching this TV show about this guy who owns a bookstore. I was like, 'I kind of want to do that,'" Pari said.
"I talked to mum about it and she was like, 'yeah, yeah'. I've always wanted a bookstore, so I was like, 'I kind of have to do it now.'"
The shop's opening this week is well timed for the school holidays.
Recent weeks have been full-on due to school exams and sorting through the 1500 books in stock.
Pari chose to open a second-hand shop to avoid waste and encourage people to recycle their books.
"By having a second-hand bookstore instead of having these old books to throw away, you're kind of giving them a new life and saying, 'oh well, there's nothing wrong with this book, so why don't I read it and someone else read it as well.'"
Pari and her friends are big readers but she said many teens thought books were a chore they were forced into looking at for school.
"A big purpose of the shop is to re-establish the fact that reading isn't a chore. Probably, young people aren't reading as much as they used to, but they definitely could if they had that opportunity to, and they would again."
Because of her age Pari has needed the help of her mother, Vasudha Rao, with some aspects of setting up the business.
"I have known from the time that she was little the she's got a mind of her own," Vasudha said of her daughter.
"If she wants to do something then she goes ahead and does it.
"I'm just the sidekick for this one. I'm just the adult, the signature person. It's really all her."
When class at Palmerston North Girls' High School resumes Pari plans to work in her shop after school and over the weekend, with her grandfather Prasada there during the day and Vasudha helping out too when she can.
Vasudha has worked for publishing companies and said books were in the family.
"My dad used to sell books. When he was 15 he was selling books written by his dad, travelling all over India, so it's really cool it's kind of turned full circle."
Pari said she was not expecting to make a profit in the shop's first year, but setting up a business had not been an expensive undertaking.
She has had donations of books and furniture - although she was looking for more shelves, a grant, and some crowd funding.
"You'd be surprised at how much you actually need to start a new business. It's probably not as much as you would imagine.
"If you Google it, you'd think upwards of $40,000 but, really, I think we've been able to keep costs under $2000."
Pari plans to keep prices low - with buying and selling - as the idea is to get books before as many eyes as possible.
And there are some attractive volumes on the shelves to catch the eye of customers at the nearby cafe, from teen fiction to Shakespeare and even acclaimed Charles Upham biography Mark of the Lion.
Pari said she was happy for people simply to come in and read a volume off the shelves - her favourites are the classics and books about World War II.
