I wonder how because I can never find books there. Seriously I can’t remember the last time I came to Barnes & Noble looking for a book and being able to find it. Their selection has gotten smaller and smaller and smaller over the years. Basically these days they sell knick knacks and toys and there’s a few Dusty books in between. Well the children’s section isn’t too bad. Also the manga sections gotten a lot bigger. So I’ll give them that.
My local, independent book store is going strong. Who needs another big chain? Support independents!
Who needs another big chain?
For the same reason we want locally owned hardware stores as well as Home Depot - the selection. The big chains can afford larger real estate and book sections as large as some book stores. Especially for technical and reference books. Sure, you could buy that stuff online but I’d rather shop in person. Sometimes I need something now and sometimes I don’t know what I need until I’m walking past it. I love the curation and personality of small stores but there’s still a reasonable argument for big chains. I would love to see some sort of beneficial collaboration between chains and indie shops across all industries.
Okay, I’ll support the independent bookstores in my town.
Let me know when someone decides to open one because right now my option is Books-A-Million.
Seriously my city has three bookstores a Barnes and Nobles a half price books and one specialty store downtown that I think sells horror books but I’m not positive because they’re never open
I’m guessing where you live has a far higher population than where I live.
Have you checked bookshop.org? You can still buy online and have the order fulfilled by your nearest independent book store.
My nearest independent book store is at least 70 minutes by car.
I try to, but there aren’t any near me. I resort to ordering from Powells or picking up from BN in person. I used to buy used from ABE books, but they got bought by Amazon.
Last time I was in I was very happy to see they ditched the “Nook” section.
At the Barnes and Noble by me, the books aren’t in alphabetical order, and it pisses me off. It’s good to have more actual book stores but I wish my local one fucking alphabetized their books.
They’re alphabetical here… alphabetical by author. That way all the authors books stay together.
Are you expecting it to be alphabetical by title?
Good luck finding all the Sue Grafton books! ;)
Nope, I’m expecting it to be alphabetical by author like all other places that I go to. They’re just a mishmash of authors and I’ll often find the same authors books be in different places in the same section. It sucks.
They don’t even know what goes in the nonfiction/essays section after the fiction books. That shelf is an absolute migraine for those of us who want literary nonfiction. Also the religious literature/philosophy/theory indistinctions. And don’t get me started on the Classics section. Hire a goddamn Lit MA student.
This has been a trend the past few years… It’s based more on how popular books are or something… Most places ditched Dewey and said fuck it
It’s kind of funny how Amazon makes Barns and Noble seem cute and cuddly.
I’ve got Strand books here in NY so I don’t need Barnes and noble but if you live in a small town without a local bookstore this might be your only option.
Hell, I live in a huge city and don’t have many other options. Most of the independent stores here are focused on specific topics instead of just general fiction. Either that or they aren’t anywhere near me, which sucks in a city with crazy traffic.
