Kimberly Thorpe exposes some significant structural flaws at New York's legendary independent book store in her cover story in the current issue of the New York Press.Allegations of racism and unfair labor practices abound with much of the heat being focused on Nancy Bass Wyden, the daughter of longtime Strand owner Fred Bass and wife of Oregon senator Ron Wyden, who interestingly enough is "widely known for his impassioned support of equal opportunity in the workplace."Most people interviewed for the piece refused to give their name for fear of retaliation though all believe "that the problems at the Strand stemmed...
A Little Bookselling Wisdom From Larry McMurtry
"The problem with large bookstores is that they contain usually a lot of junk. My focus as a bookseller is to keep the junk out. Because good books don’t pull bad books up, bad books pull good books down."-From a brief interview with McMurtry by Julie Riggot for the Los Angeles Downtown News.McMurtry will receive the Los Angeles Public Library Literary Award later this week.LA City Librarian Fontayne Holmes says of McMurtry "He really is such a book person in every single meaning of the word, as a bookstore owner, as a book collector, as a writer and as an...
Technology, technology, technology
Here's a piece I wrote that appears in the latest issue of Amphora the journal of the Alcuin Society. It was written back in early January and though things continue to change at a rapid pace in the book world I thought it still worth sharing.************Technology, technology, technologyIf your time to you Is worth savin’Then you better start swimmin'Or you’ll sink like a stoneFor the times they are a-changin’-Bob Dylan Technology, technology, technology has not exactly been the battle cry of the bookselling trade over the years but technology has now become an inescapable influence. The seismic changes bought about...
Better World Books : Are They Better for the Book World?
Last week it was announced that Better World Books has raised $4.5 million including a $2.5 commitment from the Social Enterprise Expansion Fund of Good Capital.I have been following this company for a while and on the face of things they are doing many positive things and are deserving but there is something unsettling about this company. As much as I desire to support a socially responsible company involved with books something about Better World Books just doesn't sit right with me. They seem to be lacking a sense of humility and transparency that I would think would need to...
Vendor Satisfaction and Online Bookselling
Last week Which?, a Consumer Reports type organization in the United Kingdom, released the results of a survey focusing on customer satisfaction as it relates to online shopping for entertainment products.Abebooks UK lead the field with a rating of "89% for overall satisfaction and were praised for how easy it was to find products on their site." The sample size for AbeBooks was pretty slight at 89 respondents where Amazon UK had 2812 and, the other company that shared the top spot with AbeBooks, Play.com had 416 respondents. Categories included Price, Availability, Delivery and Returns.I would love to see someone...