Bookstores: Anecdotal evidence
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AW has an affiliate account at Powells, as well as at the various Amazons; I need to get that posted again.
What are the local bookstores like? Independents, chains, used book stores, Friends of the Library bookstores, Comic stores, specialty stores (for instance, Christian or Jewish or non-English or Technical book stores)?
In France, there are about 25,000 independent bookstores. The main chain is FNAC (which works with Kobo for ebooks) available online and which also has bookstores in various cities, and there is Amazon. We have a Ministry of Culture that supports a lot the publishing industry, bookstores, festivals, translations. There are all sorts of festivals throughout the year devoted to books, in all kinds of genres. You have specialized bookstores - medical, cooking, travels, children books, gardening, architecture, languages (all sorts of dictionaries and language learning methods),etc... - bookstores in different languages (several in English, Italian, Spanish, German, Japanese...)
Do you buy printed books?
Yes, even though I have access to many books through my job.
Where do you buy them? (Describe the kind of book store; Amazon, another online retailer, used online retailer, chain, local independent . . . .)
In bookstores and Amazon.
How many printed books did you buy last year, roughly?
between 20 and 30
How many digital books did you buy last year, roughly?
I started reading digital books only this year. So far, I bought about 15.
How does that compare to this year?
Why did you buy the last printed book you bought? (A friend, a review, an advertisement, a favorite author, you've been looking for it . . . .)
I buy many books because I want to learn more about a subject. Sometimes, I watch a talkshow ("La grande librairie" : "The big bookstore"), it's weekly on TV, and entirely devoted to authors who talk about their books.
Do you use a local library? What do you use/borrow (Internet at the library, login to the library site, borrow ebooks/digital media, borrow printed books . . . )
No.
Any general comments about your local book scene?
I am so lucky. Within a 15 minute walk, I have a Polish bookstore (that sells also French books), a gardening bookstore, a travel bookstore, an architecture bookstore, a small chain bookstore (Gibert), a children books bookstore, three university books bookstores, a small family owned bookstore, two English second-hand bookstores, and two or three old-books bookstores...
I'd be interested in any anecdotal comments, general observations, etc.
You can easily order books from bookstores, and many French bookstores have websites. In France, you have a fixed price, which prevents big discounts like in the US + UK. Bookstores are all entitled to sell with a 5% discount, but not more. So Amazon cannot offer lower prices than any other bookstore. It was the subject of a big battle. But Amazon had to comply with French law.
In France, there are about 25,000 independent bookstores. The main chain is FNAC (which works with Kobo for ebooks) available online and which also has bookstores in various cities, and there is Amazon. We have a Ministry of Culture that supports a lot the publishing industry, bookstores, festivals, translations. There are all sorts of festivals throughout the year devoted to books, in all kinds of genres. You have specialized bookstores - medical, cooking, travels, children books, gardening, architecture, languages (all sorts of dictionaries and language learning methods),etc... - bookstores in different languages (several in English, Italian, Spanish, German, Japanese...)
Do you buy printed books?
Yes, even though I have access to many books through my job.
Where do you buy them? (Describe the kind of book store; Amazon, another online retailer, used online retailer, chain, local independent . . . .)
In bookstores and Amazon.
How many printed books did you buy last year, roughly?
between 20 and 30
How many digital books did you buy last year, roughly?
I started reading digital books only this year. So far, I bought about 15.
How does that compare to this year?
Why did you buy the last printed book you bought? (A friend, a review, an advertisement, a favorite author, you've been looking for it . . . .)
I buy many books because I want to learn more about a subject. Sometimes, I watch a talkshow ("La grande librairie" : "The big bookstore"), it's weekly on TV, and entirely devoted to authors who talk about their books.
Do you use a local library? What do you use/borrow (Internet at the library, login to the library site, borrow ebooks/digital media, borrow printed books . . . )
No.
Any general comments about your local book scene?
I am so lucky. Within a 15 minute walk, I have a Polish bookstore (that sells also French books), a gardening bookstore, a travel bookstore, an architecture bookstore, a small chain bookstore (Gibert), a children books bookstore, three university books bookstores, a small family owned bookstore, two English second-hand bookstores, and two or three old-books bookstores...
I'd be interested in any anecdotal comments, general observations, etc.
You can easily order books from bookstores, and many French bookstores have websites. In France, you have a fixed price, which prevents big discounts like in the US + UK. Bookstores are all entitled to sell with a 5% discount, but not more. So Amazon cannot offer lower prices than any other bookstore. It was the subject of a big battle. But Amazon had to comply with French law.
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What are the local bookstores like? Independents, chains, used book stores, Friends of the Library bookstores, Comic stores, specialty stores (for instance, Christian or Jewish or non-English or Technical book stores)?
We have a comic book store in our town; a B&N + a small, indie bookstore the next town over; and our favorite: a Half-Price Books (also the next town over). There was another comic book store but it closed. Our library also has a bookshop, but it's so tiny you can hardly fit in there to even browse.
Do you buy printed books?
Yes. I buy ebooks, too, but then almost never read them. Seems like I always reach for a physical book.
Where do you buy them? (Describe the kind of book store; Amazon, another online retailer, used online retailer, chain, local independent . . . .)
Amazon, usually. Or the HPB. When we travel, I check out any noteworthy bookstores and often buy piles there, too.
How many printed books did you buy last year, roughly?
Ooooh. No idea. Between 30 and 60? Maybe more if I consider books I bought for the kids...
How many digital books did you buy last year, roughly?
Two or three.
How does that compare to this year?
About the same. (Actually, I haven't bought ANY ebooks this year.)
Why did you buy the last printed book you bought? (A friend, a review, an advertisement, a favorite author, you've been looking for it . . . .)
The last book I bought (for myself) was Fear because I love a good horror novel (har). The last books I bought at all were the Castronaught books for my son. I'd bought him the first one from the school book flyer and he loved it and asked for the rest.
Do you use a local library? What do you use/borrow (Internet at the library, login to the library site, borrow ebooks/digital media, borrow printed books . . . )
We frequently visit the library. Ours has a good display of recent releases that I enjoy browsing. We don't typically borrow anything other than books, even though our library has a "Library of Things."
Any general comments about your local book scene?
I wish I could get our local stores to carry my (printed) books but because my publishers used Amazon to create the printed version, the local stores refuse to stock it. I understand their reasoning (I was sent an email about why and how I should reconsider my choices, even though it wasn't my choice!), but it does make me not want to shop at their stores. On the plus side, our local library has been very welcoming and invited me to give a presentation during NaNoWriMo. And I'm using Ingram for my next self-pub book, so maybe the local stores will be more willing to put that book on their shelves.
The strip mall that our B&N anchors is slowly shriveling and dying--the Party City closed, and the Babies R Us, and the B&N is slowly being taken over by toys and games rather than books. It's pretty sad to see. I don't shop at our local comic book store, either, because the guy who owns it is not very nice, the customer service is pretty terrible, and everything is overpriced. If I'm going to make the effort to drive to a physical bookstore, it's almost always going to be the HPB.
We have a comic book store in our town; a B&N + a small, indie bookstore the next town over; and our favorite: a Half-Price Books (also the next town over). There was another comic book store but it closed. Our library also has a bookshop, but it's so tiny you can hardly fit in there to even browse.
Do you buy printed books?
Yes. I buy ebooks, too, but then almost never read them. Seems like I always reach for a physical book.
Where do you buy them? (Describe the kind of book store; Amazon, another online retailer, used online retailer, chain, local independent . . . .)
Amazon, usually. Or the HPB. When we travel, I check out any noteworthy bookstores and often buy piles there, too.
How many printed books did you buy last year, roughly?
Ooooh. No idea. Between 30 and 60? Maybe more if I consider books I bought for the kids...
How many digital books did you buy last year, roughly?
Two or three.
How does that compare to this year?
About the same. (Actually, I haven't bought ANY ebooks this year.)
Why did you buy the last printed book you bought? (A friend, a review, an advertisement, a favorite author, you've been looking for it . . . .)
The last book I bought (for myself) was Fear because I love a good horror novel (har). The last books I bought at all were the Castronaught books for my son. I'd bought him the first one from the school book flyer and he loved it and asked for the rest.
Do you use a local library? What do you use/borrow (Internet at the library, login to the library site, borrow ebooks/digital media, borrow printed books . . . )
We frequently visit the library. Ours has a good display of recent releases that I enjoy browsing. We don't typically borrow anything other than books, even though our library has a "Library of Things."
Any general comments about your local book scene?
I wish I could get our local stores to carry my (printed) books but because my publishers used Amazon to create the printed version, the local stores refuse to stock it. I understand their reasoning (I was sent an email about why and how I should reconsider my choices, even though it wasn't my choice!), but it does make me not want to shop at their stores. On the plus side, our local library has been very welcoming and invited me to give a presentation during NaNoWriMo. And I'm using Ingram for my next self-pub book, so maybe the local stores will be more willing to put that book on their shelves.
The strip mall that our B&N anchors is slowly shriveling and dying--the Party City closed, and the Babies R Us, and the B&N is slowly being taken over by toys and games rather than books. It's pretty sad to see. I don't shop at our local comic book store, either, because the guy who owns it is not very nice, the customer service is pretty terrible, and everything is overpriced. If I'm going to make the effort to drive to a physical bookstore, it's almost always going to be the HPB.
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