When I was a kid, there were four places to get books, the public library, the bookmobile that came on Saturdays and parked only a block and a half away from our house, the drugstore, and finally, a small independent bookstore. The last two were within biking distance.
My connection in the bookmobile was a long-haired older guy, somewhere in his early twenties, who helped me over that invisible hump between juvenile books and straight into the adult section (which meant something completely different back then). On his recommendation I moved from Fred Gipson, August Dereleth, Beverly Cleary, and Andre Norton to hard hitting novels such as Slaugherhouse Five, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Dirty Dozen, and In Cold Blood.
Libraries are an outstanding starting point for readers who can’t afford to spend money on books, or are frugal with their expenses. My first job was as a “page” in a local branch library, and besides being the best salaried job I ever had, gave me access to a world of authors. Many of those I read back then were only available in the library, and I haven’t seen their books on any shelf since. I also figuratively met Robert B. Parker in the Casa View Library, along with Clive Cussler, Colleen McCullough, Ayn Rand, and Jean Shepherd.
The drugstore carried a vast selection of current mass market paperbacks, and many reprints, on revolving metal racks. There were half a dozen spin racks near a two-tiered display of magazines that seemed to stretch half the length of a football field.
There I spent my 35-cents, (and finally 95 cents by the end of the decade) on westerns by Max Brand, and Louis L’Amour. Sometimes there were the added bonus of two novels in one.
Glory!
It was about that same time I discovered Donald Westlake, Micky Spillane, and Donald Hamilton on those wire racks. They all taught me how to write dialogue, and the art of pacing. Of course there was science fiction, too, and I learned how to trade those paperbacks with my friends to expand our reading world.
By the time I got my learner’s permit to drive, an independent bookstore opened half a mile away and they provided a wonderful blend of library shelves and spin racks. It was dizzying in more ways than one, and I spent hours, and most of my lawn-mowing money, on paperbacks and a few second-hand hardbacks, the beginning of the collection in the floor to ceiling shelves behind me now.
Back then books were everywhere! Grocery stores had shelves full of fictional worlds and time periods. Those authors who hadn’t started in the fifties and made names for themselves in pulp magazines suddenly exploded onto the scene in a wide variety of genres.
In my part of Texas, shopping malls sprouted up like daisies and brought B. Dalton that sold books next to Chess King, and Waldenbooks opened not far away, across from Spencer’s Gifts. Then add in Gibson’s, Sage, K-Mart, and finally, Wal-Mart department stores, and there were books and magazines everywhere.
That’s where this discussion takes us today, because most of those bookstores and discount box stores have faded from memory. The long shelves of books no longer stretches into infinity, and I recently learned one of the largest publishers of mass market westerns has been informed that the mere eight feet of shelf space they once had in Walmart (the largest chain store in the U.S.) is now cut by half, which means that only westerns from William W. Johnstone or Louis L’Amour will be available for purchase.
Let me put it another way. 8 feet, 96 inches, of mass market space allotted to the largest publisher in the country for that genre is the size of a grave plot. eark humor at its best. To make matters worse, Johnston and L’Amour have been dead since 2004 and 1988, respectively. L’Amour is all reprints, though the Johnstone franchise is still alive and well.
So there be dragons beyond this point, for this is only my opinion and it’s probably worth less than two cents in this discussion.
I’m a browser. I like books on shelves. I like looking at covers and reading the inside flaps. I like the smell of a bookstore, and the leisure pace of meandering from one section to another, finding treasures there in the form of excellent books and new, exciting authors.
I know it’s easy to fire up that infernal machine full of circuitry powered by lithium ion batteries and look for releases from those you follow. Yep, algorithms are always offering up the “If you liked John Smith’s books, you’ll probably want to order these from Jane Doe.” That’s fine, but I can’t hold those in my hand, flip a few pages in search of descriptions and dialogue that strike a chord with me.
The last time that happened was in an independent bookstore and I discovered a now-award-winning Texas boy named James Wade and found myself saying, “This kid can write!”
It seems to me that publishers and distributors are shooting themselves in the foot, saying “sales are down, and because of that, we need to ship less books to put in front of potential buyers.” I’m no businessman, but good lord, if there are no books to choose from, or very few, then sales will be down. If I have choices, then the reverse is true.
The Giant Box Store near my house carries a limited number of books, and most of the selection these days are only the heavy hitters. Go to any box store, search for that tiny section that still contains books, and look at the authors. There aren’t a lot of fresh new faces there.
This isn’t sour grapes, though I’d love to see my own titles there, but when I stop by the book/magazine sections of any store I’d like to see books by other, lesser-known authors. Books that take chances on new material, advancing genres, are calling to me, and I can’t hear them.
I’d like to see novels by my esteemed colleagues on this blog out there. Oh, I once saw a Sonny Hawke novel by some guy named Wortham, and another by Gilstrap who seems to be a pretty decent sort of guy and a good author, but nothing since.
I often need a bookstore fix, or at least a section of the Rexall where I can spin a rack, hold a book, and read the back cover as the scent of ink and paper wafts upward. If they were there, I’d buy ‘em.
So that’s what I have for you on this cold, snowy day in Northeast Texas. What do you think about these current trends?
Sad to say, but life is so hectic these days I rarely go to a bookstore. And with aging, it has become more paramount to read on an e-reader than the small print of a mass market paperback. But I do enjoy a trip to the local Half Price Books now and then.
Like you, the times I have visited the small selections of large stores like Walmart, the pickins’ are slim and just a smattering of the hot & trendy books.
Some of my fondest memories from childhood are going to the library and coming home with a stack of books half as tall as I was. And in the 70’s and 80’s, I loved going to Waldenbooks or B Dalton to get the latest Star Trek TOS book that came out.
It feels like there’s a mix out there–those who want physical books or those who e-read (either by preference or necessity). Trends come and go. I wonder if we will at some point see a return to more physical books on the shelves (and not just the highest ranking ones). Either way, seems like an author has to do all they can to increase their discoverability.
You’re right. We should all embrace whatever format speaks to the reader. I’m just an old grump who likes books and likes to see them wherever I go.
I just kid’s books don’t go all digital. There’s nothing better than reading to little people. It’s an important part of their development and all my grandcritters love it.
Rev, I grew up in the same era of drugstore spinners and libraries. Plus a number of magazines my grandmother subscribed to, like the Saturday Evening Post, featured short fiction. Always plenty to read and lots of variety.
Good news for my hometown: a new Barnes & Noble is opening in Kalispell, MT and the manager plans to feature local authors. Cause for celebration! Hope to see books on the shelves by fellow TKZers, also.
I’ve found B&N great supporters of local writers. Books a Million, too.
They’ve always been good to me, too. Great local supporter of my work. I love walking through that store, especially now that they’ve regained all that space that was once dedicated to e-readers.
I also grew up in the era of paperbacks everywhere. Several of my first science fiction books were found at the book department of our local K-Mart, and years later, I used to buy novels and collections from our local Safeway. We also had numerous book stores.
We still have Powell’s Books, but I rarely go there these days since our little house is bursting with books. My wife and I usually buy most of our fiction as ebooks now, and I do the same with much of the non-fiction I purchase. Any books we do buy have to either be put on top of a row of shelved books, or displace one of our current books.
I do miss growing though. You’re absolutely right that online book searching doesn’t come close to the serendipity of browsing in person. E-book sellers like to highlight best sellers.
There’s always the library of course, and that can be a useful way of browsing still.
Wonderful post that brought back many fine memories. Thank you, Rev!
Thanks much!
Like you, I miss physical books everywhere. I like the smell and the feel. I also miss a good newsstand with out-of-town newspapers and more paperbacks.
I’ve seen it too. My husband and I are book avid book collectors and we search relentlessly for the out of the way, dusty, used book stores. We haunt those nearby, and plan weekend outings around trips to the stores we haven’t been to recently. We wandered into our local shopping mall today, trying to kill time before an appointment, and found a new used book store that wasn’t there the last time we in. Long story short, we were late for our appointment, but when we explained why, the person we were meeting got excited by a new bookstore to explore.
Outstanding! I love to see independent booksellers, especially in malls.
I often make a garbage run to Half Price Books and browse. I know the areas I like to troll but the surprises you get in a bricks and mortar bookstore can’t be replicated easily any other place. Although if I find a writer I like I’m likely to do an Amazon search and a local library search-Des Moines has a very good public library system.
Amazon’s got a good collection of used books that I can happily prowl.
One thing that I do spend a lot of time with is my subscription to Scribd. It’s the best $8.99 a month I can think of.
We do not have a decent used book store here in Des Moines, nothing like Acres of Books in Long Beach of blessed memory.
I discovered C.J. Box’s first novel in a used bookstore. We’ve since become friends and I wonder when I might have run into his books if not for that passing glance at a shelf.
These current trends turn me about as cold as the 20º here in Memphis. On the bright side, though, we have a wonderful independent bookstore here as well as several Barnes & Nobles that seem to do good business. Still, I miss the rack of paperbacks at the drug store.
Why books aren’t more important to people is a mystery to me. So many folks are stressed out and overwhelmed and books are the perfect outlet to destress and see how fictional characters handle their problems.
I do think books are too expensive for most folks. $30 for a 400 page book is hard to justify when you only make $14 an hour. Comic Books at $5.99 are no longer a gateway for boys to learn the joy of storytelling. Not sure what can be done about this.
Books have always been a welcome escape for me, as well as a sedative. Good books take us away from real life and provides entertainment.
Price is a concern, for sure. A book is still cheaper than going to see a movie. These days the theater can drain a bank account in a hurry, if you buy snacks. At least a book is still there, and can be re-read, shared, or traded for more books.
Now comics should be cheap. Back in my day,12 cents for the new Weird War and 35 cents for a Mad Magazine was cheap entertainment that satisfied and lasted!