On Bookstores

Fallen Golden Arches: Lessons for Booksellers

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“Harlem Micky Dz” by Sam Smith – Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

McDonald’s is facing hard times. They’ve closed 350 stores and are closing 350 more. In articles I’ve read, it appears that they are trying to stanch declining sales by experimenting with serving breakfast all day long and adding premium burgers (even after they pulled their pricy Angus burgers) and maybe throwing in kale on the menu? Kale at McDonald’s? Seriously?

Certainly some of the issues are that McDonald’s menu has not been known, with some exceptions, for its’ healthy food options. Yet other competitors with similar menus are not having the same problem–I suspect that the success of Five Guys is part of what is driving the interest in premium burgers.

I am not an insider either in the restaurant industry or in bookselling. I am simply a customer–one of those people that McDonald’s as well as booksellers depend on to survive. And here are some things I’ve observed that I think McDonald’s has to address that are far more fundamental than menu:

1. Consistency. At one time, you could go to any McDonald’s in the country and get a consistent product–one that tasted like your McDonald’s up the street. That is no longer the case–sometimes we’ve had burgers that taste like cardboard, and other times, what we remembered. And it makes you wonder about other aspects of the back operation.

2. Service. A while back we were in line at one restaurant waiting to order…and waiting, while a manager, who was standing between us and the counter, belly-ached to his line people about how he didn’t like his job and couldn’t wait to go home. By contrast, I was in a Panera recently where I overheard a manager interviewing a new hire who effused enthusiasm for his work, his team, and the quality of product and service they sought to bring to the customer. Can you guess where I prefer to eat these days?

3. Atmosphere. A number of McDonalds remodeled with this futuristic Jetsons look. Instead of making it a comfortable place to enjoy a meal, it sent my wife and me the message that “we’d like you to eat your food and scram as quickly as possible.”

The truth is that I look for the same kinds of things in the bookstores I enjoy visiting. One of my favorite places has a consistently good selection of the kinds of books I enjoy reading (and seems to provide this for a broad range of tastes). I’ve always enjoyed stores where the people working there know and love books. Recently, I learned about BookPeople, one of the best indie stores in the country, based in Austin, TX. It’s just fun to follow their blog and see their enthusiasm for books and bookselling. Same goes for my good friend, Byron Borger, at Hearts and Minds Books. The other thing the best stores create is an atmosphere. It doesn’t have to be the same–some are musty and dusty places with books everywhere. Others are well-organized. Others provide comfy chairs to browse, perhaps with a beverage in hand. What all of them say is “we’re glad you came by.”

All this seems like a no-brainer, whether it comes to selling burgers or books. But what do I know? I’m just a customer.

Bugs and Bookstores

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Kleenex-small-boxJust read a ShelfTalker piece from Publishers Weekly about the challenges of staying healthy if you are a bookseller. Let’s just say that it is not easy when one works with the public all day to stay healthy during cold and flu season. The writer talks about parents who stop at the store with obviously sick kids to pick up books, on the way to the pediatrician. Handling cash and credit cards of those who may not have coughed into their elbows is a recipe for time off.

I suppose there is no way we are ever going to have perfectly germ-free environments no matter how many “safe sneezing and coughing” videos we watch and how many hand sanitizers and sprays we use. What you would hope for instead is some common sense and courtesy. The truth is that booksellers aren’t the only ones affected. Cafe workers have to handle germy cups and plates. Other customers may handle books or other articles a sick person has touched including door handles. In our go-go culture we’ve been trained to do just that until we are laid out, sick as a dog, sick.

Instead of passing along sickness to the fellow bibliophiles, here are a few thoughts:

  • This is a great time to catch up on reading the books you have. Take that cold or flu medicine, get into your jammies, get a cup of hot tea, and snuggle up with a good book.
  • Need books? Here is where an e-reader is really helpful. You can borrow them from the library or buy them online without putting a single person at risk.
  • There are also many sources of free books such as Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archive, and a number of free Kindle books on Amazon, and other online sources that you can read on a tablet or computer.
  • That’s not possible? You can reserve books online at your library and pick them up with minimal contact, particularly if you have self-checkout. Can the books carry microbes? It’s possible but most die within hours or days in a dry environment. Maybe if your kids are sick, you can make sure they use hand sanitizers and wait three days before returning the books.
  • You can put a call out on Facebook to your friends that you are desperate for books. Let them know your favorite types. And maybe they can bring some chicken soup as well. If not, the books are a good substitute!

Many of us develop good relationships with our booksellers. They are our friends. If they work at an indie store, it is not always easy for them to take time off if they get sick.

Love thy bookseller as thyself!

The Uber Used Book Store

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The uber used book store? What am I talking about? It’s the store probably responsible for at least a third of the books in our house, and for passing along our book-buying habits to our son, (which his wife may or may not think is a good thing!). What am I talking about? Half Price Books of course.

Half Price Books Logo

Half Price Books Logo

Half Price Books has five stores in the Columbus area, three of which we visit fairly regularly (Carriage Place, Lane Ave., and Graceland, in that order). The chain, like so many used book stores, had its start as a single store in Dallas, TX in 1972, taking over a converted laundromat (information is from their website).  Also like many used book stores, this one began when Ken Gjemre and Pat Anderson stocked the store with books from their own libraries.  They started with the simple idea of selling books (and eventually movies, music, and games) at 50% or less of retail. This idea, and I’m certain a lot of entrepreneurial work, has propelled them to a chain of stores numbering 115 in 16 states.

Carriage Place Half Price books (our favorite). From: http://www.hpb.com/040/

Carriage Place Half Price books (our favorite). From: http://www.hpb.com/040/

Half Price books says it gets about half of its stock from its customers. They also say they will buy anything printed or recorded except for yesterday’s newspaper. We’ve found that to be true and they have been a great place for us to recycle books and other media we no longer want and can’t find others to give it to. That said, the one caveat is that you may sometimes get a better price for particular books at other stores, if it is something they want. But I haven’t found any other place that will take whatever you bring and re-sell or recycle it and give you something, usually store credit, for your stuff.

In part, this post is inspired by the fact that Half Price Books is currently having one of its regular coupon sales. You can sign up to receive emails about these and other events at their website. A couple years ago I found Raymond Brown’s box two volume work The Death of Jesus the Messiah, and with a 50 percent off coupon picked it up for $15 (it retails at $60). Recently, they have also begun holding massive clearance sales at a central location (our state fairgrounds hosted one recently). We’ve not been to one of these, but everything is $3 and under. Another used book store owner I talked to recently admitted to going to one of these to pick up stock.

Mowinckel

Mowinckel

What I’ve liked about Half Price Books is the range and depth of material you can find. It isn’t just the most popular stuff. This past week, I picked up a hardbound copy of Sigmund Mowinckel’s The Psalms in Israel’s Worship, a landmark work on the Psalms published in 1962, for a mere $5. Sometimes I find the most amazing stuff in their bargain shelves where nothing costs more than $2. I found a copy of Mark Schwehn’s Exiles from Eden, a book I’d wanted on religion and higher education, on one of these shelves.

I have to say, we’ve had a nearly twenty year history with Half Price Books in our area, and I really can’t find anything bad to say about them, other than the fact that they’ve tempted me to buy more books than I probably should have. These days, I mostly limit visits there to the sales and try to sell them more books than I buy. If you don’t live in a location that has one of their stores, you should check their locations and make sure to visit one when you travel, unless you are seriously resisting the temptation to buy books!

Dark Star Books in Yellow Springs

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Just in case you’ve wondered, we’ve been on kind of a stay-cation this past week. One of the things we like to do is explore small towns in Ohio, and whenever there is a bookstore, to check it out. On Friday, we spent part of the day having lunch and looking around Clifton Mill. Then we too a short drive from there over to Yellow Springs, Ohio, the home of Antioch College, and Dark Star Books at 237 Xenia Avenue in the heart of the shopping district of Yellow Springs.

Dark Star Books

Dark Star Books

Visiting Yellow Springs is kind of like stepping into a time warp and being transported back to the late 60s, early 70s–a very hippie, counter-culture setting. Dark Star Books has that kind of feel with an interesting twist. The store was started by Mary Alice Wilson after a career in teaching. She began with her son’s comic book collection and comic books and items related, like science fiction, fantasy, role-playing games, and suspense, mystery, and thriller literature are emphases of the store. We even picked up a Star Trek comic our son didn’t have (with his help on the cell phone). At the counter, we were telling Frank, the comic buyer about our son having his want list, and Frank said, “Have him send it to me!” It’s that kind of place.

Comic Section at Dark Star Books

Comic Section at Dark Star Books

The back part of the store caters to more to those with our tastes, with everything from cookbooks to history, to science and metaphysics sections. Although it was not entirely the case, it felt a bit that we had stepped back into the late 60s, early 70s in this part of the store. It seemed that a significant part of the books, not all, were the kinds of things we were reading back then–Teilhard de Chardin, Herbert Marcuse, and the like. But I did find a nice copy of the one volume condensation of Lee’s Lieutenants, along with a John Innes mystery, which was not easy to come by.

Dark Star Books non-fiction section with some sci-fi in the foreground

Dark Star Books non-fiction section with some sci-fi in the foreground

In talking with Frank, we learned that the store has had increased sales this year, a trend that seems to be true with many Indie stores. We also noted that they do buy books from customers but appreciate a call ahead because they are not always able to evaluate books on the spot.

After wandering a bit more around Yellow Springs, we finished our trip to these parts by stopping at Young’s Jersey Dairy, about 2 and a half miles north of Yellow Springs on US Rt. 68. This is an attraction for kids and adults with demonstrations, a play area, putt-putt, a restaurant and a store that sells dairy products, has a grill for the lunch crowd, and an ice cream counter, which was our destination. A nice way to finish off the day in this part of Ohio!

 

Read It Again Books in Grove City

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[This store is now closed]

I mentioned a couple of posts back our recent visit to Grove City.  One of our fun discoveries was Read It Again Books, located in Grove City’s shopping district at 4052 Broadway. This is a classic used bookstore. It is located in an old two-story home on the main street of Grove City, with every room filled with shelves and tables of books by different categories.

Read It Again Books and Gifts

Read It Again Books and Gifts

When we arrived in Grove City mid-afternoon, we found the store closed but found enough to divert us until they opened at 5 pm. The owners, Lora and Lynn, work other jobs during the daytime and so just open during the evenings on weekdays, from 5 to 8 pm, from 10-6 on Saturdays (they may be opening at 8am for the new farmers market that is starting up this Saturday) and 1-6 on Sundays.

We’re so glad we came back, not only for the cookbook of ethnic recipes from Cleveland my wife found (we lived there for nine years) and a mint condition copy of E. H. Gombrich’s A Little History of the World I picked up at a very reasonable price. We also really enjoyed getting to know Lora and Lynn.

Interior - Read it Again Books & Gifts

Interior – Read it Again Books & Gifts

Lora seems to be on a first name basis with most of her customers and really makes a point of getting to know their reading interests. We saw children, teens, and adults stop in while we were there. They have a children’s room and Lora worked with a couple of the children helping them find books they would enjoy in a way that would make any children’s librarian proud. She had a book she had set aside for one of her teen customers that she thought she would like.

Lynn was involved in shelving new acquisitions and what was fun was just listening to him talk about books they acquired that he found interesting. In addition, Lynn makes hand-turned fountain pens which also are for sale at the store. These were works of art.

IMG_2163

Lucy

Of course, one can’t forget Lucy, the quintessential bookstore cat. She seemed very friendly to the children in the store and just seemed to lap up attention.

Lora claimed that this was the only used bookstore in southwest Franklin County, and from what I know, I believe she is right. What was obvious to me was that Lora and Lynn loved books, loved connecting customers with books they would enjoy and work hard to both serve their community and make a go of this business. In that, they seem to represent the best ideals of the used/indie bookstore movement. And for that, I’m only too glad to give them a shout-out!

And Then There is The Big Box Bookstore

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I wrote yesterday about my visit to a wonderful little independent used and antiquarian bookstore. As it happens, I also had a chance to visit our nearby Barnes and Noble store, incentivized by a 20% coupon I’d received by email. Turns out I was able to score a copy of Capital by Thomas Piketty (my BIG summer reading project) at under $20 (retailed at $40) using my Barnes and Noble membership, the coupon, and the discounted price they were selling it at. Perhaps they knew that sooner or later potential readers would figure out this is a LONG book even if it is a best-seller.

Capital_in_the_Twenty-First_Century_(front_cover)

It is interesting to reflect on how my experience compared to my visit to the Indie bookstore. Both certainly offered the experience of browsing long aisles of books and discovering books of interest I was unaware of. Barnes and Noble occupies far more space of course, and one of the big differences is no floor to ceiling bookcases and much wider aisles. There was no Norman in the basement lovingly preparing books for the shelves because there was no basement.

Still, the booksellers were friendly and I was asked if I needed any help. So were the people at checkout, but with a big difference. It was all very inefficient, and impersonal. No one knew any names. The customers by and large didn’t know the booksellers or each other. I suppose there are times we want it that way. But the feeling was, as I reflect on it, that this was just a big box store for books and media–and pastries.

Our local Barnes and Noble.

Our local Barnes and Noble. Picture from B& N website: http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/1968

That was the other thing. At checkout, we were given a coupon for $10 off cheesecake from their cafe’. And we were really encouraged to go buy one. So we wandered over, only to find out that the starting price was $40. We didn’t need cheesecake that badly. But we were given plenty of reasons why we could need it. It was plain that they really wanted to sell us a cheesecake.

It was interesting that the greatest effort to engage me as a customer in a bookstore was to try to sell me a cheesecake. In the other store, what they cared about were what kind of books I was interested in. It is fascinating that there is something of a resurgence in the Indie stores, at least according to this Salon piece. What I wonder is whether this season of discontent with Amazon over its treatment of Hachette might be an opportunity for Barnes and Noble stores to take a look at the Indie stores and how they might operate more as a “third place” than as a big box store for books, media and pastries. I don’t say ditch the pastries– a cup of coffee and a scone are wonderful adjuncts to leafing through newly purchased books! But thinking about how to make this like the neighborhood bookshop might be worthwhile as well.

What strikes me is that the Barnes and Noble booksellers I’ve met also know and love books. And my observation is that most of what people are actually buying in the stores are books. In the small Indie store I wrote about yesterday, they help foster a community of booklovers. It occurs to me that there are many members of the same tribe frequenting Barnes and Noble–and working there. I can’t help wondering if working on that connection could make Barnes and Nobles a more enjoyable place for booksellers and customers alike. And I can’t help wondering if it would enhance sales. I could be totally out to lunch here. What I do know, and maybe this is a function of age, is that I am increasingly attracted to the places where that connection happens.

What do you think? What do you value most about going to a brick and mortar bookstore?