Terminalcoffee discussion

Ok, what's your bookstore behavior like? Do you tend to wander from section to section or go directly to a book of which you've been thinking?

I tend to wander, honestly, 90% of the time. I walk the shelves and look for the books that are facing out. Honestly, I think I'm influenced by cool covers. Then I walk over to the different display tables, maybe check out the magazines, then wander from section to section, unless, of course, I have something specific in mind, but that's not often.

And...you?

The same. Unless it's a used bookstore, I rarely buy from them 'cause I'm like, "19.99? I can get this for like, 5 bucks from amazon." A used book reads just as well as a new one.

Wanderer. With notepad and paper so I can track down interesting books used online or at the library.

It depends. I usually go in looking for something specific, so I'll try to find that right away. If I have time, then I'll wander. How much wandering depends on how much time I have. If I have all day, I'll spend HOURS, just looking through every section there.

I wander. Popular fiction is a draw since I work in an academic library. There are a few magazines I'll look for a new issue. I am always, in every store, drawn to the sale racks/shelves. I never leave empty-handed.

Depends on the bookstore.
If it is a used shop, and I'm on vacation, I'll check out the graphic novels and the creative nonfiction/biography section before wandering through the fiction shelves.
Actually that is what I do in B&N too.

I'll take a huge stack to the comfy chairs, read a few pages of each, sort them into piles and then pick the most compelling pile of all.

I usually spend WAY more money than I have, so I don't really allow myself into bookstores.

I pass gas several times in “Self-Help,” then mosey over to “Literature,” unless it is Barnes and Nobles of course, in which case I just go ahead and shoot myself.

>:|

I check out the sale racks at Borders, which never seem to change. David Halberstam's The Coldest Winter is always there, along with Robert Hughes' The Fatal Shore, plus a plethora of utterly grotesque useless books by celebrities, and a 250 page photo essay on motorcycles.

I almost never buy books in bookstores anymore. It's usually cheaper and easier online, and the B & N near me is kind of grungy and depressing.

I rarely go to a big box bookstore anymore either, but I do check out the used bookstore every so often. Generally I stick to one side of the store - I call it the "light" side. The other half is dark and musty smelling.

I make a focused beeline march to the clearance section of Half-Price Books. I study every title and often get that crick in the neck from hanging over with my neck cocked to the side trying to read all the titles lined up on the shelves. Then I move to the paperback section (which is the next cheapest), the kid section for my Thomas, next fiction, then dvd's and finally, the section with stationery, and gimicky stuff-like Buddha clocks and The History of Farting books. ( I am like a child in the gimick section...it can't be helped.)

Unless I am there to get a specific book, I am a big wanderer. I go to fiction, mysteries, new books, bargain books to see if anything grabs me. Could spend hours there going around and around. And yes, I get the neck crick, too, trying to read titles on their sides.

Stacia wrote: "I rarely go to a big box bookstore anymore either, but I do check out the used bookstore every so often. Generally I stick to one side of the store - I call it the "light" side. The other half is dark and musty smelling."

But doesn't the dark side have cookies?

I do almost all of my book-buying online, so it's get in, get what I came for, get out. Otherwise I spend money I don't have. :(

I used to be joined at the hip to American Express, and would randomly attack bookstores at will, walking out with stacks of books. I severed the unfortunate (and very one sided) relationship about 3 years ago, and now go to the library for all of my book needs.

It came to a point where they (AE) told me to leave home without it.

We usually do a Barnes & Noble run about every 3 months as a family and we always plan to spend at least 2 hrs. there because we all just like to browse. I have so many genres I like to read and I always like to check the clearance racks. My brother in law who is learning disabled likes to check the dvds (he is getting one for his birthday in 2011) and the music. My sister in law checks the health section and the magazines and the music section. If there is something I really want then I borrow the car and go. I live in a suburb and I really don't like using gas when I don't have to. i could probably spend hours if I have a lot of money to spend but that does not happen very often. I love "Annie's" a used bookstore in my area. There is a warehouse used bookstore about 15 miles away that is getting a lot of word of mouth and i want to check it out.

Welcome,Oddrun...what are you doing for books? or are you completely withdrawing from the addiction to books the rest of us suffer? How on earth are you coping? Personally, I use the local library a lot but every once in awhile there is a book they cannot locate for me in the 12 other libraries nearby and I must either venture forth to purchase said book or suffer and go without. so sad.so sad.

I have met Henry.

I have not.

King Dinosaur, I have 2 cats that could be sisters to your Henry. the resemblence is amazing. I love our cats. the three people who live here share their love and affection. give Henry a petting from me.

Henry lives in the bookstore, Michele.

Henry's the cat.

Why?

Unfortunately I think I've only been to a retail bookstore two or three times this past year. When I was younger and dumber I bought every book I wanted to read. Eventually I wised up and began checking books out at the library, plus I started borrowing books on CD to put on my iPod.

I usually only browse used book stores--especially $1 bookstores--and I almost always buy new books from Amazon. And thank God for Amazon. I always read the reviews. I almost ordered Sedaris' new book but it got panned even by his most ardent fans. So I skipped it. Maybe if it shows up at the $1 bookstore I'll give it a shot.

Of course I see the correlation between my new habits and the downfall of retail book stores, but I'm not Oprah. I can't afford to buy everything I want. I do make it a point to support my favorite writers by purchasing their books as soon as they are published.

Oddrun wrote: "I wander. Slowly, looking, searching sales sections, english paperback, norwegian paperbacks, back and forth. My kids hate it when they realise i'm headed for a bookstore, they never get out again...."
I do that to myself too Oddrun! Once the unread pile is taking over, I stop just long enough to rationalize myself back into the bookstore. But then, I color my own hair (saves about $50 a month), do my own nails (saves about $30 a month) so I DESERVE bookstore therapy.

Larry, which bookstore? If I can I'll visit. If not I will send Henry a postcard.

I usually go to used bookstores only. Money, and all that. I first go straight to the Sf and fantasy and check certain authors for new books.

Next, mysteries. Then Ya; then history. If I have time, I can easily spend hours looking, but usually money is a concern even in a used bookstore.

I almost never leave a any bookstore without a purchase.

When I do visit a new bookstore, I try to purchase at least a few books if it is an independent bookstore. I think they reallyneed our support.

I as yet do not buy on line--I am concerned about the secuirty of using my credit card on line. am I wrong about this--or should I be concerned?

I always check out the bargain books first. Then I meander over to sci-fi/fantasy, magazines, browse fiction, and maybe head over to kids books because it's always fun to remember what I read as a child.

Michele wrote: "Larry, which bookstore? If I can I'll visit. If not I will send Henry a postcard."

Orca Books, as clearly stated above.

http://www.orcabooks.com/

I have a cat named after former Israel's prime minister. Yes my cat indeed a fat one. I called it Sharon. classy isnt it? I never had any idea bringing a cat to bookstore, I'll try it. Take a picture, and post it here. My cat will be the first cat ever to entering bookstore in my country

Ah, yes. Mine will be wanderer. without any clue of buying what kind of book. will go to science section, and then politic, war, fantasy, graphic novel. The ambiance inside the bookstore really calm you down

Excellent.

King Dinösaur wrote: "Larry's kinda snarky today. Heh.

Yes, Michele - Henry is the cat who lives in the bookstore, which is Orca Books in Olympia, WA. Quitty is a local rockstar-legend who works at Orca and is a hu..."

thank you for the info. If I go to san fran to visit my son, I'll fly up to Olympia in a side trip to pet Henry.

My usual bookstore is half.com. I often pay more for shipping than I pay for the book.

Mary JL wrote: "I as yet do not buy on line--I am concerned about the secuirty of using my credit card on line. am I wrong about this--or should I be concerned? "

I don't think you should be concerned about using your credit card at established retailers, such as Amazon. And even when you buy used from some random stranger on Amazon, it's Amazon who is handling the financial transaction, as I understand it. Make sure you see the URL change from "http" to "https" which means a secure website. I certainly don't think buying from an established online retailer is any more dangerous than using a credit card at a restaurant, where your waiter can take it into the back room and do that copying scam thing. In addition, you are not responsible for credit card fraud, the cc card company is.

LG knows.

Larry wrote: "LG knows."

I finally figured out LG's identity.

Oh no.

haha

I always have a list when I go the bookstore, once I've found all the books on my list, then I wander. The clearance section takes up a good amount of my time.

Welcome to TC, Myles!

I almost always go to a bookstore with something in mind. I'll usually spend some of my time reading whatever I intended to pick up and eventually work my way to wandering for something else.

I wander and check to see if what interests me is on kindle before I buy it in hard copy. I'm with whoever it was that said he was attracted by covers: a lot of books get their first look from me because of that. And I've been known to pick a book up because I like the cover and get pissed off because the description on the flyleaf isn't as good as the cover looks, like somehow the book let the cover down. I'll pick the same book up two or three times hoping somehow I was wrong. Silly! My husband and I had our third date sitting in front of a bookshelf browsing and drinking coffee. One of my favorite dates ever, and we still regularly do that.

I was in Barnes & Noble last christmas and there was this man in his late thirties looking for a book for his mom. He asked me what I liked because I was about his mom's age. I told him to get her a gift card and then offer to drive her to B&N after christmas so she could pick up her own book. He told me that was a good idea and did just that.

I got to go to the Strand this weekend! They did some serious remodeling. There's a candy counter(!) and there are kitchen gadgets near the cookbooks, and the grouchy guards don't take your bag anymore, which means that I had to be very careful not to knock anything over. There were a lot more remaindered books, and it seemed like fewer used books.
I went first to fiction, then science fiction, then anthologies, which had their own shelves. Then downstairs to the part that was still beautifully claustrophobic, where I looked for archaic riding manuals for my best friend. Then 2nd floor for graphic novels. I guess that more or less sums up what I would do at any bookstore.

I pace slowly up and down the aisles in the fiction section, looking for any title that might catch my eye. I've found some pretty nifty books that few people have heard of that way.
I like used and new bookstores. New bookstores get a bad rep for some reason. I guess the counterculture says it's too commercial. But new authors are always worth a looksy.

I like small, independent bookstores better, and I like to look at the displays first. I guess I'm attracted to good cover art. I love when there are staff recommendations, with the little hand-written cards!

I like to check out the SF section, the YA section, and the kids' books, when I'm by myself. If I'm with my mom or a friend, I love going through the fiction with them, talking about the interesting looking books and comparing what we've read. I think that would be an excellent way to spend a first date.

I'm a Henry fan, too, and have stopped by Orca Books just to pet him. I've never pet Quitty, and wouldn't, even if asked.