Comments on: The death of the secondhand bookstore? http://champagneandsocks.com/2012/05/05/the-death-of-the-secondhand-bookstore/ A Girlie Jones Adventure Fri, 29 Apr 2016 03:51:37 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.42 By: AlisaK http://champagneandsocks.com/2012/05/05/the-death-of-the-secondhand-bookstore/#comment-5160 Sun, 06 May 2012 13:28:26 +0000 http://champagneandsocks.com/?p=1194#comment-5160 Because I think, as we’ve said often in other places, the evolution of the publishing and book industry will not be one of homogeneous change. I do not believe all books will go to electronic and I do not believe that all readers will want the same thing – we don’t all read the same genre for a start. I think it’s very believable that there will be second hand bookstores and independent bookstores that survive. And as I stood there talking to this owner, I felt sad because I genuinely realised that her version of the secondhand bookstore won’t make it. Not without her making a serious change in her approach. And my feeling was that she probably won’t. I expect eventually her store will close which is such a shame – it’s such a landmark of my childhood. And even whilst we were in there, so many people came in and said Hi to my mum.

]]> By: AlisaK http://champagneandsocks.com/2012/05/05/the-death-of-the-secondhand-bookstore/#comment-5159 Sun, 06 May 2012 13:25:30 +0000 http://champagneandsocks.com/?p=1194#comment-5159 I also felt a bit guilty because I too am currently looking to cull unwanted books and truthfully, those kind of books noone really wants. She is looking for the kind of books that are fresh, and new and currently in high rotation so they will come in, and go out, and come back in again.

I ended up just taking the rest of my culled books in queue to go up on ebay to the local charity bin. Where I then wondered if they would be annoyed too when they find them there.

]]> By: Sean the Bookonaut http://champagneandsocks.com/2012/05/05/the-death-of-the-secondhand-bookstore/#comment-5153 Sun, 06 May 2012 09:38:42 +0000 http://champagneandsocks.com/?p=1194#comment-5153 This is at odds with the experience of my favourite Second-hand book store. The proprietor told me she’s enjoying her fifth year of better than expected trade. Mind you she knows her stuff and knows how to offer service, more than can be said for some franchises in the same town.

I would think there’s still a place for specialist second-hand or indeed combination stores. Meg’s books in Pt Pirie does both.

]]> By: Tansy Rayner Roberts http://champagneandsocks.com/2012/05/05/the-death-of-the-secondhand-bookstore/#comment-5148 Sun, 06 May 2012 01:31:59 +0000 http://champagneandsocks.com/?p=1194#comment-5148 I find it interesting what this says about the value of books and the way people value them differently – the idea of discarding your life’s library freaks me out, and yet I’m desperate to rid myself of several layers of extraneous books.

I was first aware of how the 2nd hand book industry is changing when I went hunting comic books (like, Peanuts and Garfield type comic books) for Raeli only to discover that my memory of 2nd hand bookshops overflowing with the things was 10 years out of date. They are a rarity now, and only sold through ebay, the rather sour (understandably) woman behind the desk said to me.

And wow, do they COST.

]]> By: AlisaK http://champagneandsocks.com/2012/05/05/the-death-of-the-secondhand-bookstore/#comment-5135 Sat, 05 May 2012 12:01:04 +0000 http://champagneandsocks.com/?p=1194#comment-5135 I love that movie and the plot of the corner bookstore … And I love all the books she recommends in that movie.

There’s something *personal* about a live person interacting with you on your likes and dislikes that is not there online. But that said, I totally ALSO love sitting in bed at 11.30 pm and clicking on recs from Amazon and impulse buying. I hope there is a place for both in the future.

]]> By: Thoraiya http://champagneandsocks.com/2012/05/05/the-death-of-the-secondhand-bookstore/#comment-5134 Sat, 05 May 2012 11:58:52 +0000 http://champagneandsocks.com/?p=1194#comment-5134 I don’t want bookshops to die, either.

And I had a real “You’ve Got Mail” moment the day before yesterday when I went into one of the bookshops we frequent, and the owner’s wife was able to tell me exactly which kids’ book I was trying to think of but whose name I’d forgotten, and which other picture books by Australian authors appeal to fans of insert-some-other-author, and I thought: GoodReads does this for me, an adult reader who puts in enough ratings to get some pretty spot-on recommendations, but it can’t do it for a 3 year old girl, and if it could, would I want it to replace this beaming, bosomy woman whispering beautiful bookish secrets in the Small one’s ear?

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