I'm a writer who has worked for years as a used and rare bookseller in New York, so I'm grateful for this post, David. Nonetheless, I find it hard to have sympathy for the Strand at the moment. Their millionaire owner received millions in PPP loans ostensibly to keep the store afloat, then laid off their union employees, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Amazon stock, and then refused (as they always have) to pay their workers a livable wage. Among booksellers it's well known that they are horrible to their employees (and to their book scouts, and other booksellers, the list goes on).
This is to say: Yes, support independent bookstores in NYC! And support all those that are infinitely better than the Strand—both in their practices and for not being a book-Disneyland. And thank you again for spreading this word.
As an aside—curious why you feel Amazon is "incredibly necessary for those of us who write books." In what way do you find it necessary?
As a bibliophile myself and a rare books librarian, I’d welcome questions and requests for recommendations from my fellow readers about used and antiquarian bookstores. David is exactly right, it’s a good time for books! The recent documentary (now on PBS) is a good testament to this, featuring some of the folks I have the pleasure of knowing in book-land: https://www.pbs.org/show/book-makers/
I live a hop,skip, and a jump from Powell’s Books, the heart and soul of Portland, Oregon (and the biggest independent bookstore in the world), and the thing I probably miss the most from pre-pandemic days (along with reading at a coffee shop and discussing big ideas over a pint at Horse Brass) is wandering the aisles of the behemoth temple to the printed word and picking up books at whim to flip through. What makes bookstores a thousand times better than the Bezos’ Everything Tragedy Store is their visceral nature. The feeling of a hard spine, the gloss of a coffee table book, the weight of a leather-bound volume of the works of Dostoyevsky, it’s what makes me come back time after time (that, along with the substantial theology and poetry editions. I miss browsing, not knowing what I’m going to find. With the internet you have to know what you’re looking for, there’s no discovery any more. But with a bookstore the journey is endless.
Dropping you a note to let you know this post inspired me to gift a book (Lord of the Flys by Monte Burke) to my brother and purchase it from a local book store. It was a little slower and more complicated than buying from Bezos, but infinitely more charming. The owner called me to confirm when it was mailed and thanked me again for the purchase.
I'm a writer who has worked for years as a used and rare bookseller in New York, so I'm grateful for this post, David. Nonetheless, I find it hard to have sympathy for the Strand at the moment. Their millionaire owner received millions in PPP loans ostensibly to keep the store afloat, then laid off their union employees, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Amazon stock, and then refused (as they always have) to pay their workers a livable wage. Among booksellers it's well known that they are horrible to their employees (and to their book scouts, and other booksellers, the list goes on).
This is to say: Yes, support independent bookstores in NYC! And support all those that are infinitely better than the Strand—both in their practices and for not being a book-Disneyland. And thank you again for spreading this word.
As an aside—curious why you feel Amazon is "incredibly necessary for those of us who write books." In what way do you find it necessary?
Nothing like rummaging through a bookstore or music store! That’s where the gems are.
As a bibliophile myself and a rare books librarian, I’d welcome questions and requests for recommendations from my fellow readers about used and antiquarian bookstores. David is exactly right, it’s a good time for books! The recent documentary (now on PBS) is a good testament to this, featuring some of the folks I have the pleasure of knowing in book-land: https://www.pbs.org/show/book-makers/
Gospel. Every damn word. Well done sir!
I live a hop,skip, and a jump from Powell’s Books, the heart and soul of Portland, Oregon (and the biggest independent bookstore in the world), and the thing I probably miss the most from pre-pandemic days (along with reading at a coffee shop and discussing big ideas over a pint at Horse Brass) is wandering the aisles of the behemoth temple to the printed word and picking up books at whim to flip through. What makes bookstores a thousand times better than the Bezos’ Everything Tragedy Store is their visceral nature. The feeling of a hard spine, the gloss of a coffee table book, the weight of a leather-bound volume of the works of Dostoyevsky, it’s what makes me come back time after time (that, along with the substantial theology and poetry editions. I miss browsing, not knowing what I’m going to find. With the internet you have to know what you’re looking for, there’s no discovery any more. But with a bookstore the journey is endless.
Hi David,
Dropping you a note to let you know this post inspired me to gift a book (Lord of the Flys by Monte Burke) to my brother and purchase it from a local book store. It was a little slower and more complicated than buying from Bezos, but infinitely more charming. The owner called me to confirm when it was mailed and thanked me again for the purchase.
Great advice!
Austin
Daddy from Emma Cline is straight fire. Do yourselves a favor and buy it today. At your lovely neighborhood book store. Everybody wins indeed.