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Heaven on Earth: Bookshops
Mar. 21st, 2007 05:14 pmI do not understand people that say they don't read or don't like books. That's like not eating, or not liking fresh air. 'With a book you are never alone' is a phrase uttered by someone pretentious, probably trying to sell his services as a critic, but it is indeed true. Sitting by yourself staring at your lunch, or into space on a park bench induces either sympathetic glances or edging away. But if you've got a book, no one thinks you're a crazy loner. Well I might be deluding myself there, but at least if I'm staring at a book I can't see the people giving me funny looks.
Bookshops are like religious institutions to people like me, be it a small specialist bookshop or a giant chain, they fill the reader with a sense of possibilities. If you're the type of person who knows exactly what they want, you may as well purchase it online and have it arrive on your doorstep. However if you're just after ‘something interesting' then you really have to go to a bookshop, feel the covers and browse the shelves.
If I'm planning a purchase of a non-fiction book, particularly one with a heavy emphasis on pictures I'll try to visit a proper bookshop to compare different books. I'll usually approach this with the intention of then buying it on Amazon where it will likely be cheaper, but inevitably decide to just buy it then and there. Bookshops are increasingly expanding their collections to get to people that are easily tempted away by the 'simplicity' of Amazon. So now you can buy board games in bookshops. Or pretty stationary. Or a whole variety of little gift books, boxes, bookmarks and trinkets that twinkle at you as you queue.
I'm a particular fan of the 3-for-2 deals that most of the large chains do. Logic would usually dictate that as I can only read one book at a time, I should only buy one book at a time. Also I have a stack of books on my 'To Read' shelf that loom at me and make me feel guilty every time I pass them. However with a 3-for-2 deal it really is more financially sensible to buy three books at a time. It's saving money. Honest.
This also gives me an excuse to take a chance on some random works, books that I would never come across on Amazon, but which call to me across the promotions table. Whether it's a shiny cover, a 'recommended' sticker or just the fact that it's been left in the wrong place, something about this book calls to me and demands to be investigated. Once it's made it into my hands the strangest thing can tip the balance – the feel of the paper, the author picture in the back cover, the use of a particular word in the blurb. I must look a bit odd in bookshops, picking a book up and turning it over. Although I'm not as bad as someone I could mention who is a Page Sniffer. Watch people in bookshops, there's almost always a Page Sniffer loitering around the glossy coffee table books.
Once I've browsed all of the books with the 3-for-2 stickers I'll inevitably find I have 4 books; one that I'd actually planned to purchase all along, one that's a bit of a guilty pleasure and two of the Siren books that have just enchanted me. After a bit of soul searching and peering at my wallet I'll either drop one book (usually the one I'd gone into the shop to buy) or go in search of two more books and promise to not go out until they're finished. This process can take anywhere up to an hour and has been known to drive my shopping companions to distraction.
Many of the larger chains are re-enforcing the appearance of book shopping as a whole experience, not just the stop between M&S and HMV. They're dotting comfy seats around the shelving so you can agonise over your decisions from an armchair. Some shops are even throwing in coffee bars to combine two of my favourite places into one location of perfectness. If you've just obtained new reading materials this saves you trekking out into the cold unpleasantness of the high street to reach the sanctuary of Starbucks. If you take long enough to drink you're coffee you can finish your book and start the whole process over again.
Bookshops are like religious institutions to people like me, be it a small specialist bookshop or a giant chain, they fill the reader with a sense of possibilities. If you're the type of person who knows exactly what they want, you may as well purchase it online and have it arrive on your doorstep. However if you're just after ‘something interesting' then you really have to go to a bookshop, feel the covers and browse the shelves.
If I'm planning a purchase of a non-fiction book, particularly one with a heavy emphasis on pictures I'll try to visit a proper bookshop to compare different books. I'll usually approach this with the intention of then buying it on Amazon where it will likely be cheaper, but inevitably decide to just buy it then and there. Bookshops are increasingly expanding their collections to get to people that are easily tempted away by the 'simplicity' of Amazon. So now you can buy board games in bookshops. Or pretty stationary. Or a whole variety of little gift books, boxes, bookmarks and trinkets that twinkle at you as you queue.
I'm a particular fan of the 3-for-2 deals that most of the large chains do. Logic would usually dictate that as I can only read one book at a time, I should only buy one book at a time. Also I have a stack of books on my 'To Read' shelf that loom at me and make me feel guilty every time I pass them. However with a 3-for-2 deal it really is more financially sensible to buy three books at a time. It's saving money. Honest.
This also gives me an excuse to take a chance on some random works, books that I would never come across on Amazon, but which call to me across the promotions table. Whether it's a shiny cover, a 'recommended' sticker or just the fact that it's been left in the wrong place, something about this book calls to me and demands to be investigated. Once it's made it into my hands the strangest thing can tip the balance – the feel of the paper, the author picture in the back cover, the use of a particular word in the blurb. I must look a bit odd in bookshops, picking a book up and turning it over. Although I'm not as bad as someone I could mention who is a Page Sniffer. Watch people in bookshops, there's almost always a Page Sniffer loitering around the glossy coffee table books.
Once I've browsed all of the books with the 3-for-2 stickers I'll inevitably find I have 4 books; one that I'd actually planned to purchase all along, one that's a bit of a guilty pleasure and two of the Siren books that have just enchanted me. After a bit of soul searching and peering at my wallet I'll either drop one book (usually the one I'd gone into the shop to buy) or go in search of two more books and promise to not go out until they're finished. This process can take anywhere up to an hour and has been known to drive my shopping companions to distraction.
Many of the larger chains are re-enforcing the appearance of book shopping as a whole experience, not just the stop between M&S and HMV. They're dotting comfy seats around the shelving so you can agonise over your decisions from an armchair. Some shops are even throwing in coffee bars to combine two of my favourite places into one location of perfectness. If you've just obtained new reading materials this saves you trekking out into the cold unpleasantness of the high street to reach the sanctuary of Starbucks. If you take long enough to drink you're coffee you can finish your book and start the whole process over again.
