Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about book stores…




How do you choose what to buy from your local bookstore? Do you have a list, or just browse? What is the selection in your book store like? Do you find what you're looking for? Do you feel pressured to buy the kind of books the store makes prominent? (question courtesy of MizB)

I usually start by going to my Amazon wish list and making a list of the books I'm most interested in reading first or what is going to be coming for a challenge that I don't have. Plus will jot down the names of a few authors discovered along the way. If I go to the bookstore, any bookstore without a list, I get so overwhelmed by all the choices on the shelves, I end up wandering aimlessly about and don't enjoy the experience.

The independent bookshop I frequent is Book Lovers Cafe. The shop is in the same center as our business, so you can imagine how often I'm there. Brad carries mainly used books but does have a
small new titles section, plus he showcases local authors like Brenda Novak and Allison Brennan to name a few. He has a great assortment of books from classics to mysteries to romances to horror. I usually can find what I want there.

If I decide to go to Borders, I will go online first to make sure the store has the book 'likely in store'. Nine times out of ten if it says 'likely in store' the book will be there. I will work from a list, but browse the end caps and new releases looking for authors I like plus recently discovered.

Do I feel pressured to buy the kinds of books the store makes prominent? Never. The displays may draw my attention, but if the book doesn't look interesting or it isn't something I would ordinarily read, I don't have a problem passing it up. I don't think anyone in Borders has ever offered to help me find a book. You have to seek them out. The staff at Barnes and Noble is a lot more helpful and some usually wander around offering to help you find something. Probably because they don't stock as many books and they keep changing the locations. :0

If I seriously have to have the book NOW, then will order it off of Amazon. Since I have Amazon Prime, will receive the book within one to two days.

I'm curious - Have you ever walked into a bookstore and not bought anything at all?

6 comments:

  1. I do alot of browsing online prior to going to the bookstore too. I don't get the chance to go often, so I have to spend my time wisely when I am there.

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  2. I don't go to the bookstore very often because I really can't leave without a new book or at least a magazine! I'm very bad.

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  3. I have walked out empty-handed but it is a rare event for me. I am more likely to walk out with nothing if I am going through one of my restless reading phases where nothing interests me.

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  4. Yes, I walk into bookstores and leave without buying anything. What I do leave with is a list of books to request from the library since I agreed a few years ago to quit buying so many books to live within our budget.

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  5. It is so rare for me to walk into a bookstore and not buy anything. I usually leave with at least one or two, and a good half dozen pictures on my phone which I use to help me remember to add things to my wish list.

    I honestly can't remember a single time in recent memory that I've walked out of a bookstore empty handed. It's a sickness. :)

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