Where to Buy (Books, That Is)
Last week, I enjoyed a long conversation with my aunt about the ins and outs of publishing. We discussed the nasty notion (from an author's perspective) of returns, and we talked about advances, royalties, and other forms of author payment. And, most importantly for my musing today, we talked about where to buy books.
Given my druthers (which I rarely am), I'd buy my books at an independent bookstore. I like the idea of supporting small business people, and I love the idea of independence from corporate monitors who dictate what must be stocked where when. Here in the DC area, though, (and, alas, throughout most of the United States), independents are in scarce supply. While there is a small chain, Olssons, they tend to be very low on stock for all books, and they keep almost no genre on their shelves. (Alas, the warm spot in my heart for Olssons faded when I could not find WITHIN A BUDDING GROVE (the second volume of REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST) there. I mean, if they're a literary store, and they can't even stock the subsequent volumes of one of the most pretentiously literary series in the history of writing...) I wish that we had a specialty SF/fantasy store, like Bakka in Toronto or Pandemonium in Boston, but, alas, we don't. Even more, I wish that we had a grand independent in town, like Powell's in Portland, or the Tattered Cover in Denver, or Book People in Austin. But, double alas, we don't.
Therefore, most of my in-person book purchases take place at large chains. I prefer Borders because they tend to have better-stocked shelves, although both Borders and Barnes & Noble have been very supportive of me as a writer. And, as an author, I have to say that I prefer for my readers to buy my books at a large chain. What? Heresy, you say?
It's a simple matter of mathematics. Most independents won't sell my books. Most large chains will. And if they sell all the copies of my books that they had on order, then they'll re-buy them. And when my next book comes out, they'll buy more in their first order than they did for the first order of my last book. And then I'll be a happy, happy author.
And then, there are the online vendors. Because they try to keep as few books as possible in their warehouses (shipping for on-time delivery), they tend not to increase their orders when the past book sold well (breakout monstrosities being the exception to the rule, of course.) They're definitely not *bad* for authors, but they're not as good as a store that steadily orders, sells, and re-orders, displaying my books to thousands of earnest readers.
So. Where do you buy most of your books?
Mindy, setting aside other wrinkles, such as Costco and Walmart, at least for the moment...
Given my druthers (which I rarely am), I'd buy my books at an independent bookstore. I like the idea of supporting small business people, and I love the idea of independence from corporate monitors who dictate what must be stocked where when. Here in the DC area, though, (and, alas, throughout most of the United States), independents are in scarce supply. While there is a small chain, Olssons, they tend to be very low on stock for all books, and they keep almost no genre on their shelves. (Alas, the warm spot in my heart for Olssons faded when I could not find WITHIN A BUDDING GROVE (the second volume of REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST) there. I mean, if they're a literary store, and they can't even stock the subsequent volumes of one of the most pretentiously literary series in the history of writing...) I wish that we had a specialty SF/fantasy store, like Bakka in Toronto or Pandemonium in Boston, but, alas, we don't. Even more, I wish that we had a grand independent in town, like Powell's in Portland, or the Tattered Cover in Denver, or Book People in Austin. But, double alas, we don't.
Therefore, most of my in-person book purchases take place at large chains. I prefer Borders because they tend to have better-stocked shelves, although both Borders and Barnes & Noble have been very supportive of me as a writer. And, as an author, I have to say that I prefer for my readers to buy my books at a large chain. What? Heresy, you say?
It's a simple matter of mathematics. Most independents won't sell my books. Most large chains will. And if they sell all the copies of my books that they had on order, then they'll re-buy them. And when my next book comes out, they'll buy more in their first order than they did for the first order of my last book. And then I'll be a happy, happy author.
And then, there are the online vendors. Because they try to keep as few books as possible in their warehouses (shipping for on-time delivery), they tend not to increase their orders when the past book sold well (breakout monstrosities being the exception to the rule, of course.) They're definitely not *bad* for authors, but they're not as good as a store that steadily orders, sells, and re-orders, displaying my books to thousands of earnest readers.
So. Where do you buy most of your books?
Mindy, setting aside other wrinkles, such as Costco and Walmart, at least for the moment...
When looking for a new book, I end up at either Borders or Barnes and Noble. Usually Barnes and Noble, since I got used to searching for language books there (they carry a broader selection of Pimsluer).
However, I only shop at Borders once a year, for Christmas shopping. I buy new books for gifts, in other words, and always buy me a few things, but I pretty much save all year to go through a glorious new book store.
For me the rest of the time, I shop through Amazon.com used books, or go to Bookman's Used Books, or go to the library. The library is the closest, so I go there the most.
Lately, I've also been buying books through friends' blogs and getting more of the small press and e-books/magazines through different people on these blogs and such--recommendations or their own books/pubs, you know?
Oh, and I have bought a few wrinkly books from Walmart :-D Ack! I'm a grazer!
I'm reluctant to shell out the $$ for new books usually. And often when I do, it's amazon.com that gets my money.. and then Borders (mostly them instead of another big chain store since I get coupons for them). Can't think of where else I've bought books anytime near recently.
There isn't much for indy sellers in the area who do new books as far as I know, otherwise I'd go to them instead of Borders on the rare occasions I buy a new book new.
I also live a few blocks from a nice independent bookstore (Wellesley Booksmith), and I will occasionally pop in there when I go for a bit of a walk around the neighborhood, and I will usually buy at least one book from them. It's nice being able to browse, and I like supporting a local independent business every so often.
I will also sometimes be out near a Barnes & Noble, and I like browsing their larger selection. I will sometimes buy something from them, but less often, and I mostly buy remaindered books from them.
I also occasionally buy books at science fiction conventions or other bookstores (I picked up a bunch when I was in Hungary, for instance), but most of my book purchases are from the first two sources.
They moved the B&N in the nearest major town (about an hour away) to a huuuuuuge new location and I have to say the new store is pretty spiff, and I will probably do holiday shopping there.
* ...from an even mix of online (Amazon) and brick-and-mortar stores (UW Book Store, B&N, local independents).
* Used I'll get from Powell's, Alibris, or various used bookstores. We've stopped going to Half-Price Crooks; the closest one to us is in the University District, where sullen, disaffected college students give you a penny on the dollar and then steal the cream of the crop for their own collections. (No kidding. Got the word from a former employee.)
I have an independent store nearby, The BookRack. These folks are crazy about local authors, so the support goes both ways. But my favorite real-life bookstore has to be the Joseph-Beth Bookseller in Charlotte. I love the atmosphere, the selection and the incredible helpfulness of the staff.
However, my book budget is currently around nil (except for that five dollar amazon gift cert I have yet to figure out what I want to do with), so I've been largely borrowing from the library.
I buy some via book clubs, and one or two at cons. On the rare occasions that I go into a bookstore, it's a Barnes and Noble.
ABEbooks.com if I'm looking for a rare or out of print book.
I get to my local Borders maybe twice a year, mostly for gifts, and browse used-book stores when I get the chance. About once a year I have a lapse of self-control in the mall Waldenbooks and come out with as many books as I can carry; that's often the point at which I'll take a chance on a new author, oddly enough.
if I'm going to the city (new york city that is), which I do about 5 times a year (give or take a conventions or concert) I head straight for The Strand (18 miles of books!) or if I need my cultural fix Book-Off.
The Strand has an online store--not as much fun let me tell you. Just wandering through their massive shelves I have found real gems (long out of print books in like new condition for cheap, new books for like 1/3 of the price at Borders/B&N).
Book Off...well that's more a specialty store. It has a large selection of english novels, but mostly its for asian things (music, DVD's, manga) and its all used.
then of course there's also all my used bookstores (all 4 of them), my book sales (I average about 6 huge ones a year) and my bookswap/trading circles (3-4 a year). And my coworkers (we have a 'pass a book along' going right now with about 7 of us), dad, Uncle (he buys me poetry) and sister.
In Delaware, it's still Waldenbooks, as the larger chains simply don't exist in Dover, DE and Atlantic Book store, which is a discount independant -- or if it's a chain I can't tell.
Sometimes Atlantic Books has some of the most off the wall books that its become a nice little treasure trove. Some of my most favorite books on writing came from that store, books that I can't seem to find anywhere else in the larger chains. It's no small store either, and quite often they have more than a few of the popular genres.
I make regular visits to a variety of second-hand bookshops, here in Toronto and in Calgary, where my family live. For new kids' books we shop at several independent toy/bookstores around town, as well as at Indigo. For new grown-up books, I shop largely online, through chapters.indigo.ca or, more rarely, amazon.com, or else at Indigo. I used to be a regular at Bakka, but I rarely get down to that neck of the woods these days. Our old neighbourhood was well supplied with bookshops, but the new one appears to exist in a bookshop desert, alas -- hence all the online shopping.
The same company now owns Indigo, Chapters, Smithbooks (once W.H. Smith), Coles, and the once-independent World's Biggest Bookstore, so there isn't a lot of variety here outside of independents -- which are of course fewer and farther between than they were ten years ago, say. Smithbooks and Coles tend to stock almost nothing but bestsellers (mostly paperback), periodicals and the really run-of-the-mill reference stuff -- and they never seem to have anything in any language other than English, which is annoying. My favourite bookstore of all time, Albert Britnell at Yonge & Bloor, is now a Starbucks. Grr.
Mostly I get a loooot of books from the library.
I'd forgotten that Book City, but I've certainly spent a not inconsiderable amount of money there over the years. I also forgot the Bob Miller Book Room at Bloor & Avenue Road, which supplied so many of my university books...
My first choice is always independents, and, if I'm not in a rush, I have them order what I want.
As far as research for my own writing, I tend to haunt second hand stores. Strand Books is always on the look out for things that might interest me -- they treat me very well. And the Book Barn in Niantic is a day trip -- an actual barn, plus five or six outbuildings of books, plus coffee and donuts, 13 cats and some goats.
Next closest bookstores are BAM and B&N, at about 70 miles away. BAM is in a better location, but that store carries mostly franchise genre books (by which, I mean the Star Wars and Star Trek books)...and they've never taken my hint to carry the award-winning selections (Hugo, Nebula, etc.) *sigh*
I'm not crazy about the location of the B&N, so I tend to order from Amazon.com more than them.
On Amazon.com, I tend not to browse; I generally know what I want (i.e., I've heard about a release I want from an established author). I do find Amazon.com more reliable for having the non-fiction I want to buy.
I will browse some on Powells.com (not sure why or how Powells gets me to do that) and will buy from them from time to time (one or two big orders a year?).
I will sometimes buy books at the local grocery store (in part because I want them to keep the books available there) and sometimes from Wal-Mart--largely because they're nearby (if you count 10 miles away as being "nearby"), and the other stores aren't.
Why, yes, I do buy a lot of books a year. :-)
My partner buys books in person. Where possible, he will go to independent stores, of which there are at least some still remaining in Toronto, such as Bakka and the Toronto Women's Bookstore. Otherwise, Chapters or the store that used to be The World's Biggest Bookstore but is now just a huge Chapters outlet with the same name.
Used books are problematical for us because we both have, to varying degrees, multiple chemical sensitivities, and if the previous owner read the book in a room with one of those air fresheners, or a scented candle, or while wearing perfume, I won't be able to read it unless it's gently baked for months to drive out the remaining scent, so we don't buy used unless it's a book that's out of print.
The Borders at Pentagon City is much better stocked these days, although the B&N in Bethesda is also a good bet.
But at the moment, I've got a large supply of books from last weekend's ALA excursions, as well as a pile of stuff I picked up at the Daedalus Outlet Store.
And Readercon's this coming weekend where my wallet and I will undoubtedly make a few more purchases in its books-only dealers room; I don't anticipate needing to visit one of the chains for a while.
My GIRL'S GUIDE is on general fiction shelves, but the Glasswright books stay in genre. (They're only carrying APPRENTICE these days, as the others have gone out of print...)
I don't think I've actually *been* to the Pentagon City Borders - I know where it is, but I've never made it into the store. We tend to go to the Seven Corners Borders, instead... (That's where Mark proposed to me, as it was the scene of our first date!)
Where to Buy (Books, That Is)
When we moved to West Virginia, I found a little magazine shop near out house that sold a few SF/F books. I dropped in just about every time I passed the place, and the owner began to let me look at the publisher's catalogs and recommend books for him to order. It was a sweet deal, but we only lived there for a couple of years.
I'm back in Utah now, and I usually order stuff through an independent bookstore because the owner is very happy to order books for me. IMHO, if you can order through an independent, that's the best way to go.
And of course, there are dealer's room and book signings, at which I often buy books.
(Anonymous)
Mail order is good when it's older/not in stock. I do that too. But my favorite mail order is www.sfbc.com. They're not real fast, but they do nice book reviews, and the way that they review books tells me how much I'll like them.
Adrianne
I buy a good number of books (average 2 a week). I feel bad that I don't shop at the local independent, but they do not stock much SFF. Otherwise I'll go to any of the stores in town - Half Price books, local used store (best choice, as I have mucho credit due to last years moving purge), Borders, and semi-local chain Hastings. On rare occasions I'll shop at the campus store, which has a surprising selection (and due to the Campbell Conference, a quarter is signed by the author) if I need something immediately. I rarely shop online, as I'm an immediate gratification girl, though if it is something I really want and can't find locally, I will. I should check out more at the library.
Politics & Prose?
Moved out of DC (or technically, out of Alexandria) in June 2000, or thereabouts, but there used to be an independent bookstore on Connecticut just south of the Maryland border called Politics & Prose that was really cool, tho it didn't have *any* genre, that I can recall.
Do you know if it is still there?