It's Been Awhile...Bookstore Edition

[wendigomountain]

Recently, I stopped and visited a bookstore, like an actual bookstore, for the first time in probably six months.  What I discovered not only irritated the hell out of me, but sorta put me in a terrible mood of "If this is how they are running things, they deserve whatever it is they have coming

Comments

[msstacy13]

I have $15 in my pocket and I want to buy something

They ~do~ still have overpriced chocolates and mints at the register, don't they?

[wendigomountain]

I couldn't decide between the Teen and Young Adult Candy and the Mainstream Candy.

[msstacy13]

*snort*

[bogwitch64]

Is it bad of me to be smiling smugly from my small-press haven? ;)

[asakiyume]

"The latest bestseller AND a trampoline? Yes, please."

Okay, that made me laugh.

And you know, I have actually had Amazon's recommendations work for me, so, yeah. Paint me suggestible?

[bondo_ba]

Wow... I have bought most of my books online for years. Living in Buenos Aires means that most bookstores have an "English" section, which limits this kind of thing.

And my local English-language bookstore is the furthest thing from "retail" that I've seen.

So maybe you should move down here!

[cmcmck]

Thankfully, the UK still maintains plenty of 'eccentric' independent bookshops as well as the chains. I could spend all day in Baggins' Book Bazaar (yes, really :o) in Rochester. The best chain outlet I know, however, is the Waterstones in Gower Street, London which is close to the unis and my haunts at the LIHR and is a largely academic bookshop with an amazing history section. Heaven!

[wendigomountain]

Most of our independent bookstores were crushed by BN and Borders ten years ago. However, in downtown Denver, which is about an hour away, there is the Tattered Cover Bookstore, which is like five floors of glorious, glorious books.

Oddly enough, Laramie, WY, has at least three bookstores. One chain and two (or more) independents.

In the town where I live, we have one newsstand that specializes in magazines and lattes. And tobacco. We have an extensive library system that routinely removes controversial titles from its stacks and pretends they never existed.

[cmcmck]

Waterstones get their staff to review books and then post the reviews in the store along with whatever book the person has reviewed- it's obvious that they only really like to employ book geeks! :o)

I'm convinced that Baggins is the bookstore Terry Pratchett describes with more stairs than floors and little doors that normal humans couldn't possibly fit through and which probably connect to L space although none of the staff has so far said 'Ook'!