And why you damn well should
By on June 13, 2014 - Esquire
The movement to boycott Amazon has been picking up speed for several weeks now. In the wake of strong-arm tactics in its negotiations with Hachette publishing, Amazon has managed to offend the actual writers whose books Hachette publishes, including Malcolm Gladwell, James Patterson, and JK Rowling. That wouldn't matter so much if one of them wasn't Stephen Colbert. He has promoted stickers that viewers can download from his website, which read, I DIDN'T BUY IT ON AMAZON. Amazon has responded by telling customers that anybody inconvenienced by the battle with Hachette should buy books elsewhere.
Until publishers decide to start a competitor website selling books, which eventually they are going to have to do, anyone wanting to follow Colbert's or Amazon's advice ought to venture into actual physical bookstores. Unfortunately, by now, purchasing print books in a brick-and-mortar building is something of a lost art, like taking snuff or drinking brandy after dinner. Which is not to say that it's not worth doing. Quite the opposite. Buying books in a bookstore is one of life's great, quiet pleasures. It leads to the purchase of better books. It leads to a deeper relationship to reading. It is a joy in and of itself.
Therefore, for those who need reminding, and for those who perhaps are too young ever to have been in a bookstore, a short guide to buying books in them:
1. Take your time.
In every bookstore, there is a book that is perfect for you, right now, at this exact moment of your life. That book will change you. Your job is to find it. It probably won't happen right away. When you go to a bookstore, schedule a good half-hour there. You spend half an hour at the barber don't you? You can spend at least the same amount of time looking over the life's work of strangers who only want to make something you'll love.More
No comments:
Post a Comment