I did something this evening I haven't done in a long time. I went to a bookstore.
There was a time when I rarely went three days without being in one of those places but since the advent of Amazon, that doesn't happen so often. I hear or read about a book I want and instead of making a mental note to pick it up next time I'm in a bookstore, I do a couple of immediate clicks and order it…and then I don't go to the bookstore because I already have all the new books I want. (I'm also buying fewer books then I once did owing to a lack of space and the fact that I'm on a lot of Review Copy lists so I get 'em free.)
A couple of brief observations from tonight's expedition…
- I breezed by the "political" section. It wasn't called that but that's pretty much what it was. I think it would speed the buying process if instead of shelving them alphabetically, they had one section called "Books That Demonize Bush and/or Cheney" and another called "Books That Demonize Clinton (Bill and/or Hillary)." It's hard to look at some of those covers and not think that there's a sizeable audience waiting, cash in hand, to read the worst — true or not — about the people they already dislike.
- I wanted to buy a copy of Vincent Bugliosi's new book on the Kennedy Assassination but the store only had one copy and it looked well-thumbed and a little soiled. It also looked too heavy to carry since I was walking home. Two more reasons to order from Amazon.
- A very short woman was unable to reach a very large book off a very high shelf and there was no store employee around to assist her…so I got it down for her. She thanked me and said, "I'll be around for a while if you need anything off the bottom shelves."
- When I do go to bookstores, I always see some customer doing a little rearranging of some shelf. And I always assume its an author jockeying for position.
- Lastly: Please, if you work the checkout counter at a bookstore, just ring up my purchases, run my Amex card and stick the books in a bag. It's not necessary to page through my selections, making little comments on why I'm reading what I'm reading. On the other hand, if I had that job, it would be hard to resist the temptation every time someone bought a mystery novel to open it up, spot a proper name and announce, "Oh, I read this one! Harry Murphy [or whatever the name was] was the killer!" I'd hate myself but I'd probably do it.