Book 'em

I'm not much of a bookstore person.

For a long time in my life I really liked them -- to this day, I recall the thrill that I got when I went for the first time to a Brentano's, because that chain had been mentioned in an Allen Drury novel (Capable of Honor), the first hardback I'd ever bought; also, how delighted I was when I came across the actual original Borders, before it became massive and popular and virtually indistinguishable from Barnes & Noble. And how charmed I was by the Waterstones chain, even just their little shop in the Pittsburgh airport. Classy, all of them.

But for a while, I've kind of avoided bookstores, because I didn't get much of a feeling of warmth from them any more. They weren't places for people who like books, most of them, but rather places for people who sell books. I don't care for the prices, but what I really don't care for is the attitude. Not all of them -- but most, yes.

There's an excellent list of what a bookstore ought to be -- and where I'd gladly pay extra to go -- in this posting from the Romancing The Blog site.