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Confessions of a Bookseller

literaryreview.co.uk

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Re: Confessions of a Bookseller

#3

Post by cerberusss »

freezing_coffe wrote: post #2

Ohh, how nice it is to be greeted with a subscription modal

I've got a couple of extensions on Firefox on Android, which make browsing bearable. But whenever I take out my iPad, I want to put it away. Large parts of the web are extremely annoying to me due to the ads, paywalls, popups, modals, cookie warnings, fingerprinting and what have you.

Re: Confessions of a Bookseller

#4

Post by Jun8 »

“A bookshop owner is unqualified to be a literary critic. It’s more useful to know the distinguishing features of the first edition of The Pickwick Papers than to have read the bloody thing, and it’s always best not to bandy lit crit across the counter.”

I strongly disagree! In fact I would say for typical customers this is exactly what’s expected of the bookseller.

To find examples of great booksellers not from this mold I suggest two wonderful books: “The Seven Stairs” and “Medium and Rare”.

Re: Confessions of a Bookseller

#5

Post by mistrial9 »

Jun8 wrote: post #4

“A bookshop owner is unqualified to be a literary critic. It’s more useful to know the distinguishing features of the first edition of The Pickwick Papers than to have read the bloody thing, and it’s always best not to bandy lit crit across the counter.” I strongly disagree! In fact I would say for typical customers this is exactly what’s expected of the bookseller. To find examples of great booksellers not from this…

as an avid small bookstore customer, in a university town where every genre of book and bookstore existed, I came to know well one successful bookseller, worked for him on special assignments, then worked at his estate. He was literate, mercurial and absolutely a scoundrel about money. The most important, basic, recurring issue of the day was money in every form. Every opportunity to get something for one price and sell it at a higher price, was the priority and the topic and what was important.

What the customer expects, how the customer buys and how the customer thinks the bookseller is in character or otherwise, is open to manipulation at every turn.

This particular was fellow probably genius material, but make no mistake, you are a tool as a customer, and that is utterly different than the stuff of reviews and taste and literary movements and craftsmanship and collectability. Now that the word appeared, yes, collections and valuing of collections came to the fore over the years. Special rare books that are collectible became a better trade for an aging trader. This was all before Amazon.com appeared. Your mileage may vary. I doubt this sort of person, absolutely real in the West for centuries, is able to be in business now. Bookshops are closed one after another in that town now. There used to be fifty in a two mile radius from campus.

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