|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:10 pm
Inu_Kaiba Provide some form of seating and reading space.
Yes... that is a must.
The other day I went to a book store (used, but still very loved) and there was absolutely NO where to sit and go over a book. I'm not exaggerating... it was crowded with books.(not saying I don't mind the large amount of books =3)
I felt embarrassed sitting on my knees in the middle of an aisle trying to read the first chapter of a book I was interested in.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 3:33 am
iPumperdiddle Inu_Kaiba Provide some form of seating and reading space.
Yes... that is a must.
The other day I went to a book store (used, but still very loved) and there was absolutely NO where to sit and go over a book. I'm not exaggerating... it was crowded with books.(not saying I don't mind the large amount of books =3)
I felt embarrassed sitting on my knees in the middle of an aisle trying to read the first chapter of a book I was interested in.
There is the customer side of me which says the ideal bookstore is light and roomy, with spacious isles and a clear way of sorting the books by genre and then by author. The obscure bibliophilic side of me prefers bookstores with small isles, lots of high wooden book cases, piles and piles of tomes and that authentic ancient library feel. I guess you need to be somewhere inbetween those options to create the ideal bookstore.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:41 pm
Splendid Cup of Tea I'll tell you something; here in the Netherlands, there is no form of seating whatsoever in any bookstore.
That is not fun.
The reason I love seating to be readily available is because I can spend four hours or more in a book store trying to decide what I want to buy. I couldn't imagine sitting in an aisle for hours. People would get mad at my presence. (It has happened before.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:22 am
iPumperdiddle Splendid Cup of Tea I'll tell you something; here in the Netherlands, there is no form of seating whatsoever in any bookstore.
That is not fun.
The reason I love seating to be readily available is because I can spend four hours or more in a book store trying to decide what I want to buy. I couldn't imagine sitting in an aisle for hours. People would get mad at my presence. (It has happened before.)
You know, if I somehow won a thousand euros (remember, I'm in the Netherlands), I would put half of the money on my checking account, and the other half I would spend solely on books.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:53 am
I want every genre separated: Romance, mystery, self-help, manga, ecetera. Remember, fantasy and science-fiction are NOT THE SAME THING!
Within every genre alphabetize the books by author and put books in a series in chronological order because not all series have numbers on the spine.
Have chairs so I can sit and read a few pages. I don't care if they're comfortable; they only have to work. In fact, in a small bookstore, large cushioned seats can get in the way. Without having any chairs at all the store implies that it doesn't want customers to spend an excessive amount of time in there.
Cafes are great, but it's understandable that most small bookstores can't have them.
Tall bookshelves are okay as long as there are accessible, sturdy stepstools for customers to use at will. I don't want to have to ask a worker to get a book down for me so I can read the summary on the back, only to decide that I don't want to buy it; I'd feel badly about taking up his/her time. So, if tall bookshelves are necessary then have stools.
No Teen a.k.a. Young Adult sections. Most teenagers that enter a bookstore are capable of reading "adult" books or they wouldn't be in there, thank you very much. Young Adult isn't a category because there are so many various genres thrown in there only due to the fact that the main characters are adolescents. There isn't a Male or Female section based on the gender of the main character, so why make age a factor? Children's sections are fine because that relates to how the book is written; sentence structure, vocabulary, ecetera.
It's definitely a plus when the store sells items related to books, such as bookmarks, book-lights, and journals.
Personally, I rarely glance in the Best-seller or New Release sections, however, it's good for a store to have them since it shows that the staff are aware of the most popular and recent series.
I almost never buy books in a Recommended by Staff section. In spite of that, I like when stores include one because it makes the staff seem more approachable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 10:57 am
Quote: I'll tell you something; here in the Netherlands, there is no form of seating whatsoever in any bookstore.
I was going to say the same. Only the big chains in Ireland have seats usually, and then not even all of them.
I found one bookshop once which I absolutely love. Fiction sections - Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance, Classics and... something else, I can't remember, were in little alcoves along the walls, created by having the shelves along the walls, and at right angles. And in the centre of each was a big block chair, so people could sit on all sides.
And then in the centre were all the Non-fiction books, magazines and some stationary.
Yep, Fantasy and Sci-Fi were separate, as Minerva said they should be!
The children's section was separate at the back as well. And it has a fish tank in it! My friend and I had to join in with all the six year old staring at the poor fishies last time we were there.
There was a cafe as well, but it was kinda separate, so it didn't feel like you were being imposed upon by the people who were only there for the cafe, like you can in some bookshops.
In the same shopping centre, there's another bookshop. A little one, with both new and second hand books, set up on two levels. It was a mess of a place, with no clear genre categories laid out. The sort of general fiction - romance etc - that's usually kept in the A-Z sections was downstairs and then on the loft area was the Non-Fiction, fantasy and children's books. There were very few books in the children's section though, 'cause most of them were downstairs, mixed in with the adults books, which I liked. I fell in love with that little shop. Pity I'll probably never be in that part of Dublin ever again...
Then, in our town, there's a small bookshop. One of those creepy, family-run business where the guy at the counter does nothing but stare at you. They hire an old man to attack people with his recommendations, which are usually about World War II or airplanes. It attracts a lot of American tourists who all have friends called Belinda and Annabeth in Meath who recommended this-or-that Irish-language book to them.
But despite all this, I love that shop. I just can't put a finger on why. All my friends hate, and think I'm mental for wanting to work there - but I'm too afraid to ask for a job there anyway.
I think its the personal touch it has. All the books there seem to have been read by the owner or her husband. There's a massive We Recommend section, and they allow you to return any books from there that you don't like. They gift-wrap books at Christmas, whether you ask them to or not, and always put a bookmark in every book, even if you're buying like, six at a time!
I just love it...
Well, that's a nice long rant. Thanks for the oppurtunity!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 6:52 pm
A great bookstore to me is organized, well lit, has chairs, a database of books in stock that is accessible to the customer, and has friendly staff who LOVE books. I haven't been in many stores like the one I've just described. sad
Also, I really wish more stores would not just clump all religions into one section but would broaden it more to make it easier to find specific books.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
