A Tale of Two Bookstores

Well first of all I should say this is not about two bookstores but one bookstore with two locations.

Last night I went to the lifestyle center across the county line. I know, please don't tar & feather me! I was going to Books & Company (formerly locally owned and now owned by Books a Million).

I'd been in the store before to browse and bought several books at Christmas but last night I went with a purpose. I was looking for a particular book, one that ANY bookstore should have. When I didn't find the book I started looking around to assess the place. As this was not the first time I didn't find a book at Books & Co at the Greene I decided I'd walk through the store to see if I was even one of their target customers. I read alot but this bookstore is not for me. On the other hand, Books & Co at Town and Country has always been cozy, friendly, and generally stocked with the type of book I was looking for last night. Sadly it seems like lately it's not being tended to very well.

So what struck me last night is this... Books & Co at the Greene is a big (two story) cavernous playground for white, suburban, conservatives.

While my comments could be a generalization about The Greene my experience last night was specific to the store but reassured me that diversity is not embraced. I was particularly surprised by the sterile, cold feeling of the bookstore. There didn't appear to be diversity of ages, genders, race, or sexual orientation in their employees or their customers. I saw all around me books by religious conservatives and political commentators. The children's section is quite impressive. Overly done and taking up about 1/4 of the second floor is the Christian Living section. A few piles in the political/current events section featured books by Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with any of that. It just seemed excessive and limiting at the same time.

I wandered a little further to find that categories like Gay/Lesbian, Sexuality, Self Help, Women's Issues, New Age, Art, Photography are scattered all over the store. They also didn't bare their own placards hanging from the ceiling and instead were on shelves with labels that you don't even realize are there. What I find interesting is that at Town and Country's Books & Co. (and even at other competitors) these categories make up their own large sections. Rather than seeing a wall-full of gay books I think I saw 3 linear feet of gay books confined to one shelf. That's just an example of large markets they've chosen to not engage as customers.

I find it offensive. It's like saying we have token books here but you'll have to go somewhere else to find what you're looking for because we'd rather not sell to you. And if I was African American or any particular ethnicity I don't think I'd find any books or authors that represented me or my culture. It's a shame... and an indication. It's also a place I don't think I'll be patronizing.

Comments

[Jeffery]

It was interesting to read your comments because I got a very similar impression of that bookstore. It could be really inviting with all the windows and such, but the selection is just so blah. To be fair, though, the Town & Country Books and Company's current affairs/political book section was heavily weighted to the right, too.