Bookstores

Since 1997 I do most of my book shopping online, but I still like browsing through a bookstore when I have the chance. The odd thing is what genres begin to spring up when you're not looking. Yesterday at a B&N in houston they had a section labeled "Teen Supernatural Romance." I came within a breath of actually saying aloud "WTF??"

I mean, seriously, WTF????

Anyway.... Onlin bookstores have a much wider selection, naturally, as they don't run out of shelf space so easily. So whereas at a B&N they may have five titles by, say, Robert Heinlen, Amazon will have dozens. But browsing a brick and mortar store has many advantages. You may see a section you had not considerd, like history books, or they may have interesting bargains, or a cover may grab your eye and prove to hide something interesting inside. I do browse a bit online, but even browsing is somewhat directed. That's the downside of a limitless bookshelf: you can't show everything you have.

About every time I'm in a bookstore I regret having moved so much of my business online. I feel I've contributed to their innevitable extinction, and I fear something will be lost when they're gone.

The bookstores that survive are the ones that fill a niche market of extreme customer support or have alternative attractions such as chess, chairs galore, a bakery, frequent lectures, etc. People would browse the latest releases at Murder Ink but then go buy them at online prices. Wouldn't save much and soon the browsing opportunity of a specialty Brick and Mortar place is gone as all merchandise becomes a commodity and all commodities become differentiated only as to price.

I saw something the other day called Graphic Novels. I think it means hardback comic books or something. I'll ask the next time I'm at the tattoo parlor hearing about vampire virgins.

They still have bookstores? Haven't been to one
since '96. The B&N around here closed anyway.

I really enjoy used book stores. I find titles that you don't see on Amazon, or that you wouldn't even think to search for. Plus, you get good deals.

I remember a local used bookstore always had Pokemon cards at a reasonable price back when WotC couldn't keep up with demand. Other than that, the markup compared to Amazon always pissed me off and I've very rarely made a purchase in a bookstore. In fact I think the only book I bought in a bookstore (with my own money) was to impress a girl. Yup, that's it, everything else has been on Amazon.

Amazon included, I've never paid more than $1 for a book.

Quote: konceptum

Amazon included, I've never paid more than $1 for a book.

From someone who owns thousands of books, I find that hard to believe!

I'm a born cheap skate, I think. There's a used book store near my house that sells books for $1 every other Sunday. This year, I went to the VNSA book sale: sci fi paperbacks were 25 cents each. There was a closing of a Savers and they had books, including hardbacks (whoa), 10 for $1.

Granted, I don't always get GREAT books, and I can't get anything fairly new, but I get all kinds of great stuff.

Admittedly, on Amazon, about the only thing I get are books for the Kindle reader on my phone. I only pay 99 cents, and there are also free ones.

Nice chain or franchise named Half Priced Books. Mainly used, but some new stuff. I have 4 in my area, and usually hit one location a week, as the inventory changes. They also have dvds, records, comics, vhs tapes, cassettes, cds. Im not sure I have purchased a new dvd in quite some time. Usually someone buys it new, sells it in a few weeks and I get it half off.
Prices vary on books, but you can find great deals, on the "bargain" shelf. 2 or 3 bucks a book. I have purchased most of Tom Clanceys books on that shelf.
You gotta search well, you can find same books on bargain shelf, as well as the regular shelf, at vastly different prices.

HPB.com


Phydeaux

Quote: konceptum

I really enjoy used book stores. I find titles that you don't see on Amazon, or that you wouldn't even think to search for. Plus, you get good deals.

I recently completed a 2,000 mile drive and the most memorable afternoon was stopping at this tiny little three block long town that had a large used book store.

I like used book stores too. My go to online store these days is Powell's (www.powells.com) because they sell both new and used books. I've found some great deals with them, including a copy of Niven's "Destiny's Road" which was better than new. Really. It was in perfect shape, and with a plastic cover for the dust jacket. Also a pristine copy of a bound (not glued) trade paperback of Stapledon's "First and Last Men" (which I've yet to read, BTW). For a while they even did free international shipping, which is all but unheard of online (alas, they don't any more).

Mostly, though, I look for out of print books there. Some are in sorry shape, but a damaged copy of Simak's "Waystation" is as readable as a pristine one, and much more readable than one you can't get. They were also instrumental in allwoing me to complete my collection of Asimov's "Black Widowers" mystery stories.

I've visited a few used stores here in Mexico, but you can guess the percentage of SF books in English here is lower than low.

There are still a few used book stores in my area, but they are becoming much less common than in the past.

I guess only the strong survive.

A shop owner said their demise is due primarily to the ever increasing popularity of Kindle, plus people use computers for entertainment rather than picking up a book.

Quote: FleaStiff

I recently completed a 2,000 mile drive and the most memorable afternoon was stopping at this tiny little three block long town that had a large used book store.

I always stop at used bookstores in tiny towns. Not always a find, but sometimes there's a huge find there.

" A shop owner said their demise is due primarily to the ever increasing popularity of Kindle, "

I sell used and new books on Amazon. Ebooks are killing books. 50% of new books sales are Ebooks and only getting worse.
Hardly buy any recent books at garage sales. Nobody resells Ebooks. Plus most profitable used books are out-of-print
and text books. Now theu can reprint old books as Ebooks.
Currently a sophomore at Colorado Mesa University. Text books usually have an access code for on-line extras,
so resale really drops. Just took a Meteorology course, Had a hard back book they is a new issue every year,
Teachers gets an updated slide show for auditorium lectures with each new edition, No resale there.
3 classrooms subjects I took had only a website book available, To say nothing of online classes.

Libraries at several large universities no longer have books in them.

And just today on the way to work it hit me: I forgot to look up the Mr. Tompkins books by George Gamow...

They've been on my list for weeks.

In Centre Market, Wheeling, WV, there is one of the greatest places on the face of the planet known as, Paradox Bookstore.

It's a musty old building with narrow aisles, wobbly floors, the occasional spider and an occasional strange smell that I have yet to identify. It's fantastic! You can get used books in there from anywhere from a dime to a couple bucks, depending on how new/rare it is. He will also buy books, as well as sell them, so when you're done with whatever books you bought there, then you can take them back and essentially get half of your money back.

For one example, I got Scarne's New Complete Guide to Gambling, hardback there for $1.00. I obviously did not sell back that book, that was about a decade or so ago.

I used to make it in there once a week, but my schedule is so hectic these days, that I'm happy to make it in there three or four times per year. The other problem is that you never really know when the place will be open, so it was a lot more convenient to stop in when I was in that area daily, now I'd be going out of my way...at least during the times of day when there is any chance of him being open.

One fun game I used to play when I was in there weekly was, prior to going in, I would pick as aisle, shelf, and how many books over from the left and just buy the corresponding book, regardless of what it was. I also forced myself to read it front to back, even if it sucked, which it often did. For example, I ended up reading a biography about Edith "Edie," Sedgwick (sp?), who I honestly couldn't have given less of a crap about...except for the song by The Cult about her...because that is one bad-@$$ song!

You'll occasionally find a good book there with the random pick method, and it's often something you would not have bought otherwise, so it's worth it. I think my best find that way was The Fifth Horseman by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre, still have that one.

Quote: buzzpaff

Libraries at several large universities no longer have books in them.

Really?

NO BOOKS in several large university libraries?

Proof, please.