Comments on: Local Bookstores, Feh. http://www.blogenough.com/blog/2006/05/23/local-bookstores-feh.html Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:52:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Sparkles http://www.blogenough.com/blog/2006/05/23/local-bookstores-feh.html/comment-page-1#comment-878 Sparkles Wed, 31 May 2006 22:37:42 +0000 http://www.blogenough.com/?p=524#comment-878 I went to the Books-a-Million (BAMM.com) at the new Levis Square development out in Perrysburg last Sunday. Earlier that same day I looked at a bunch of bookstores in Yellow Springs, Ohio, all hippied out. Guess where I bought more stuff. BAMM has the best magazine section, and hippies have terrible books, though one of the hippie bookstores had a pretty big selection of Dostoevsky. In my own town, there is one tasteful small independent bookshop near my office, and I really do make an effort to go there, but there are always three dames up front braying to one another about how fabulous it is that they're *such readers*. I went to the Books-a-Million (BAMM.com) at the new Levis Square development out in Perrysburg last Sunday. Earlier that same day I looked at a bunch of bookstores in Yellow Springs, Ohio, all hippied out. Guess where I bought more stuff. BAMM has the best magazine section, and hippies have terrible books, though one of the hippie bookstores had a pretty big selection of Dostoevsky. In my own town, there is one tasteful small independent bookshop near my office, and I really do make an effort to go there, but there are always three dames up front braying to one another about how fabulous it is that they’re *such readers*.

]]> By: punchme http://www.blogenough.com/blog/2006/05/23/local-bookstores-feh.html/comment-page-1#comment-877 punchme Fri, 26 May 2006 03:00:01 +0000 http://www.blogenough.com/?p=524#comment-877 I can't believe it took you so long to realize all this. I realized this years ago when someone made the stupid mistake of giving me a B&N gift certificate that I'd have to use at a brick & mortar store. Getting to the B&N in Foster City was a soul-killing affair due to traffic and parking and all sort of other miserable obstacles. Then I'd get there and they'd never have what I wanted. They'd often take it to the next level by taunting me: Looking up in their inventory that they SHOULD have three copies, but they're just not there on the shelf! This would be technical stuff like the O'Reilly book on DNS or whatever, and we're talking the height of the Internet boom. Then they'd have the audacity to tell me that they could order it and I could come back in 3 weeks and it would be there. Well, fuck, the WHOLE REASON I went to a store was for instant gratification (and to use my gift certificate, but they didn't know that). If I felt like waiting, I could have ordered on Amazon and it would have come to my front door instead, but in less time. Brick & mortar book stores of any kind are surely still fine if you go in there not knowing what you want and are open-minded to just browsing and walking out with something. That's not me, though. I went back to B&N again a few weeks later when I was seeking something that I was sure they'd have, and they once again didn't have it. The gift certificate ultimately went unused and expired. I now order everything through Amazon. The same goes for music (even more so, in fact). Fuck it. I can’t believe it took you so long to realize all this. I realized this years ago when someone made the stupid mistake of giving me a B&N gift certificate that I’d have to use at a brick & mortar store. Getting to the B&N in Foster City was a soul-killing affair due to traffic and parking and all sort of other miserable obstacles. Then I’d get there and they’d never have what I wanted. They’d often take it to the next level by taunting me: Looking up in their inventory that they SHOULD have three copies, but they’re just not there on the shelf! This would be technical stuff like the O’Reilly book on DNS or whatever, and we’re talking the height of the Internet boom. Then they’d have the audacity to tell me that they could order it and I could come back in 3 weeks and it would be there. Well, fuck, the WHOLE REASON I went to a store was for instant gratification (and to use my gift certificate, but they didn’t know that). If I felt like waiting, I could have ordered on Amazon and it would have come to my front door instead, but in less time.

Brick & mortar book stores of any kind are surely still fine if you go in there not knowing what you want and are open-minded to just browsing and walking out with something. That’s not me, though. I went back to B&N again a few weeks later when I was seeking something that I was sure they’d have, and they once again didn’t have it. The gift certificate ultimately went unused and expired. I now order everything through Amazon. The same goes for music (even more so, in fact). Fuck it.

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