I hate to be a wet blanket on the indie bookstore discussion but…
I like the old musty bookstores as much as the next person. Unfortunately the majority of the buying public doesn’t.
Giant stores like B&N (and WalMart for example) flourish because they give the public exactly what they want. If the people in this thread were a larger majority of consumers, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
I guess my point is that we have nobody to blame but ourselves. People vote with their dollars. If the public didn’t blow all their money at B&N there wouldn’t be one on every corner.
“It’s like banging your head against a wall because it feels so good when you stop.”
Yes, but what if you don’t know what you want? I’d much rather wander in a used book store- or a library- than at B&N, MediaPlay or Borders. I used to work in a used book store. Best job I ever had, when it was slow, I sat there and read the inventory. Research. It’s now a cigarette shop.
There ARE still some good independent bookstores out there…my daughter happens to work for one. http://www.thebookshoppe.com/
I don’t get a commission from this, and neither will she. But if you’re in Fort Worth, drop by during business hours (closed on Sunday) or check out the online catalog.
Someone else mentioned ABE. This is a great online source for books, too.
Personally, I prefer used bookstores that are located in “found” shops or even homes that have been converted into shops. I think it adds to the atmosphere.
I generally buy used books, but I have a list of certain authors that I will only buy in new books. I want to encourage and support these authors.
As much as I like my indy (especially the BookZeller here in the Chicago area. Great used book store), the B&N = Walmart thing confuses me.
B&N sells one thing, really, and they do it well. Print literature. The method they take is to make a comfortable store with inviting reasons to loiter about and spend money and it works. Personally, I think the idea of letting customers read magazines for “free” as they drink a $5.00 cup of coffee is genius. If they don’t sell “My Time With The Sea Urchins”, it’s because “My Time With The Sea Urchins” doesn’t sell enough copies to bother shelving it. If I ran a store, I wouldn’t waste shelf space on things that didn’t sell. However, they focus in books and that’s about it. (Ok, so some sell CDs and stuff - I don’t think they’re about to drive the local music joint out of business with their $18.99 CDs)
Walmart sells everything. Clocks, furnature, medicines, diapers, food, electronics, tools, toys, etc etc etc. Walmart tries to put multiple businesses out of business in all areas of commerce.
So, besides the fact that both are large businesses, how are they alike? If you have a B&N move into town, you might lose your local independant booksellers - or not since we haven’t lost them in my town yet - but that’s it. When Walmart moves in they try to replace everyone.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
I live in a small town–have to drive 30 miles to get to the nearest chain store–Books a million. The local book store is barely adequate and the clerks are just plain wierd. I like to order books from Common Reader www.commonreader.com
I got their wonderful catalogue with wonderful book reviews and found some old friends I thought were out of print and some great new ones. They are quick with the mail order service as well.
A quick side bar to the B&N debate. If any of you folks plan to visit the UK sometime in the future make sure to include the small village/town of HAY-on-WYEit’s on the border of England and Wales.
THE WHOLE TOWN IS GEARED TO SECOND HAND BOOKS WITH A MINIMUM OF 100 BOOKSHOPS AND MILLIONS AND I MEAN MILLIONS OF BOOKS.
I purchased an 1823 leather bound book in reasonable condition for £8 which is about$14 US. No fancy prices here and allow a full day or even a stopover in the many hotels/inns. As an added bonus the countryside in these parts is quite enchanting.