Because... I get all philosophical at the holiday time of year, and when I get philosophical, I get even more boring than usual. This Christmas season we've garnered many kudos from our customers because of the quality of our stock in trade. We also, just this morning, got an e-mail detailing the January Las Vegas Bookmans Guild meeting. Which set me off, and inspired the following screed:
There is a huge difference between being a bookseller and being a bookman - a term that applies equally to men and women. For example, most Internet book dealers are book sellers, dealing in a commodity, not the invaluable resource book truly are. That’s why customers quite often do not get the book they ordered on-line: they usually get a book in lesser condition, or a book that is not the listed edition, or a book that’s completely different from the one they purchased.
Yes, Virginia, there is a… or actually many, fine bookmen who do sell on line. There are specialists in science fiction, mystery, modern standard authors, non-fiction, and even general stock who will sell you the book that you want, and have it be right every time. These are the true bookmen. Yes, the books that they sell are a commodity, paying their rent and all the other expenses attendant to a business, but their books are worthwhile, much like we specify in our catchphrase: “Books of Worth In All Genres.” A book has to be good enough both in condition and writing to find its way into our inventory.
Most of the local bookmen will also buy specific books with specific customers in mind, because we don’t sell just a commodity, or a service, we sell a way of life. There are so many aphorisms about books, ranging from Cicero’s “a room without a book is like a body without a soul,” to the tee shirts that say “So Many Books, So Little Time.” This is a way of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment