But there's definitely a crowding-out effect with e-books, or even Amazon's many books for a penny (plus S&H). With Amazon, I no longer have to search widely for a particular book or topic, but that also means I'm not going to randomly wander through other sections and suddenly discover buried gold. In a certain sense, I have more information about a narrow segment of the market -- the specific book I'm looking for -- but less information about the market in general.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Story
I still buy a bunch of non-fiction by looking through charity shops (UK version of thrift stores, maybe).
> The customer isn’t always right. I am. People don’t like that. They think I should be groveling—I don’t grovel.
Again, very honest, and I think he has a point. Most businesses today are run according to "customer is always right - as long as he pays" principle. I.e. they'll pander to you if they can make money, but the moment the transaction is done (or you're deemed more trouble than you're worth), you're treated as trash[0]. I personally prefer an up-front shopkeeper than one that pretends to be my friend (and one that is honest-to-God friendly ends up getting my repeat business, including buying things I don't really need just because I like them).
[0] - See e.g. subthread about coffee shops here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11802667. It's all super cute and lovely as long as you take your coffee and quickly leave.
There is a coffee shop next door to my apartment. It has random rules posted on all surfaces to which signs can be affixed. Feel like I'm going to go to prison if I walk in there and do something wrong inadvertently, so I just go to Starbucks to avoid causing any problems. I like that these people are running a coffee shop, and I'd like to support them. But it's just too scary for me. Better to stick with something inviting, or at least known.
My favorite part of this article is how the owner doesn't say he runs the bookstore solely to overhear people's conversations, but it seems clear to me that that's his main reason. Rules about what you cannot say, "I don't like cell phones because you can only hear one side of the conversation", etc. I'll pass.
Maybe this is all an east coast thing, though. In Chicago I never noticed local businesses being quirky (and I'll go out of my way to get coffee at Intelligentsia). Same with Mountain View. But everyone in New York has quite the desire to become king or queen of their own empire, and are sure to let you know it.
This is a really weird thing to come away with. Hell, I remember as mobile phones were starting to become popular, there were more than a few comedians that had "how irritating it is to hear one half of a conversation" as part of their acts. It's not about eavesdropping, it's about a broken cadence.
There are some coffee shops in Oakland that have explicit no laptop policies. I used to live near a coffee in shop in Portland where the owner would randomly unplug the wifi if he didn't like the people sitting in his shop and working.
I actually wish they'd work out what a fair market rate is for someone occupying that desk, throw in unlimited coffee and just charge me by the hour.
If it gets really busy I clear out since they can make more turning over tables than with me sat there, I've noticed by doing that and not pretending to own the table I'm sat at the coffee shop owners are friendlier.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/capitol-hill-books-washington
LOL, choice quote:
"When I spoke to the owner (an elderly cantankerous man) about trading some books with him, he was extremely rude. When he asked why I had so many copies of several books, I told him I had a TBI and forgot that I already had the books. He turned to my husband and very sarcastically offered his condolences. " (1/5)
I hear “Perfect,” I hear “Like, like, like, like,” and I hear “Awesome” every 32 seconds and it was causing me to have brain damage
They love to leave the doors open so I can try to air condition the outside.
I don’t let computer books in here because they are obsolete the day they’re printed.
And perhaps the best The customer isn’t always right. I am.
Now I really want to visit this store.
Just don't go there during the summer. It's not airconditioned well.
And the owner really does seem to know his stuff. I bought Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadeter and while I was paying he was like.
So you getting this? I got through a quarter of the book before I realized I was too stupid to understand it. -Hahaha well I can only hope that I will -You need more than that
Still haven't read the book but I'll surely remember him when I happen to don't understand the book
Does anyone remember the incident where Amazon just decided that they needed to delete books they had sold to Kindle users and just went in and did so off everyone's Kindle?
We have even arrived at the point where people don't even question ownership anymore. You can't give or sell your books, you can't buy second hand books, you can't sell your digital movies, etc. I thought I recalled either a court case or policy effort to make transfer and sharing of materials possible so you could, e.g., lend your friend a movie or book, and so you could sell a digital copy at a discounted rate.
I don't think people quite appreciate the ramifications of this, because sure, now it only extends to digital content, but how soon before other industries get the bright idea that you are only buying the "license" to the disign of their furniture and the design of their car and they are giving you the materials for free to use, you know, like it currently is with digital content, and then they make it illegal to sell your furniture or car or any other object that you are only licensing the deign of.
Because we know that it's not like movies or music has gotten any cheaper with the absence of the roughly 70% of production and distribution costs of physical media that has now all gone to profit.
Yes. Amusingly, the books in the case I remember were Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm.
Interestingly enough, there are quite a few of these weird ass hoarder book stores in the DC area.
Had to look that one up...
