Books may become a thing of the past if the future is left to online booksellers and antiquarian dealers.

If the only books deemed worthy of selling must pass some arbitrary test graded on a monetary scale as well as passing a tagalong test for literary value then the reading public will soon get wise enough to keep their money in their pockets and their reading habits to themselves.

Whenever an aspiring writer talks with me about writing a book I advise them to write for people who don’t normally read - then they can make a difference in the world - J. K. Rowling comes to mind!

The new book publishers and retailers seem to have P. T. Barnum’s philosophy firmly entrenched - “You’ll never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public” or something similar.

In order to get new readers (we all started at the most elementary stage) we have to provide a format to make it as easy for them as possible. A brick and mortar used book business with a broad cross-section of books (including children’s chapter and picture books) is where it all has a chance to begin.
Most used books stores won’t handle children’s books on a large enough scale to attract and retain families as customers - because handling children’s books is just too much work.

Generations of readers have been ignored and will continue being ignored by the used books business operators who do not do the work required to cultivate early readers and attending to the needs of those readers who simply read as a pastime - but it sometimes seems that readers are not a focus of antiquarian dealers anyway … smile.

It is not my intention to offend anyone who truly cares about the state of the book and the book business - they are all lucky to have had books touch their lives in any meaningful way.

Each of us booksellers has an obligation to do all we can to keep our craft alive.

Working hard at something you love isn’t really work.

Thanks for another great point of view. My own experiences are similar to yours.

Interestingly I know of some shops that continue to run along quite nicely. They have one thing in common, they do not bother with the internet.

The have a bricks and mortar shop and run it as such. Using the internet to check books and prices is not a mistake per se, it’s the conclusion one draws from these checks that tend to be the problem.

First: Because it is on the internet at a price does not mean that’s it’s value. By definition it is the reverse. The price you have seen is the price it doesn’t sell for, as th eworld can see it and nobody wants it!

Second: The tatty copy of Ian Fleming’s Man with the Golden Gun you have in your Lincolnshire bookshop is not quite worth the same as the absolutely fine copy Adrian Harrington has in his Chelsea bookshop !

Thanks again for the great comment, much appreciated
Regards
Rod

Well here we go and I regret the answer will not fit on a postcard.
Yes,
Over the past few years we have seen a decline in the Second-hand,
Collectible and the new book trade.
A lot of which has been caused by online selling,
I hear you cry.
Sadly though the decline in the second-hand book trade has been partly bought on by the Booksellers themselves.
About four or five years ago,
I used to visit Bookshops on a daily basis covering at times
a thousand miles plus in a week.
In many of the shops I visited,
I used to spend what was to them at the time,regular and serious money.
All was going well.
Until they decided to invest in a Computer,
and give it prime position in the shop.
Then came the inflated and extortionate prices often asked for books,
Previously they would have thrown in the bin or not given a second glance.

“Because that was the price online they said”.

I pointed out at the time that they were making a big mistake,
the public will not like it and the trade will stop calling.
Which they very quickly did.
These Bookshops then for rescue and salvation subscribed to various online outlets.
Then to make things even worse for themselves,
continued to price there books at top prices.

“Because that was the price online they continued to sing”.

These shops very quickly saw a drop in sales, and I for one stopped visiting and spending, along with everyone else.
Within months these shops started closing down.
Then forced to trade from home,
they preceded to sell online, hammering there online outlets.
By now there are so many at it the market is saturated with crap.
So then starts the price war !.
Booksellers competing for sales by dropping there inflated prices
to what may seem to some more realistic levels.
Though one online venue has to be the ultimate with Booksellers selling books for 1p,
just so they can squeeze a few pence out of the extortionate shipping charges.

End of Instalment One : will be continued should you so wish ?
By
A Retired Bookseller

Shoot from the hip!
Watch out for powder burns on the Miss Sixtys though

Re “I think your books, whilst appealing to me, may not find favour with the general public, there seems to be an Annual to upset everyone there!”

The “general public” who fall into any of my Annual categories are a waste of space anyhow, if I offend, then I have hit the right nerve!

Here are a few titles I am thinking of publishing:

1: How do drink moderately from now on
2: Practical advice for parents on child rearing
3: How I got the body of Daniel Craig in only 6 weeks
4: Designing women and how to avoid them
5: Buying shirts on a tight budget
6: How to make your house more welcoming to visitors
7: Bacon: How to get your fair share
8: Talking whilst not being understood by anyone else
9: Achieving a work / life balance

I could go on, and frequently do I hear you cry
Best
Rod

1. Footballers Annual 2006 – How to get rich kicking a bag of air
2. Cricketers Annual 2006 – How to get rich scratching your balls all day
3. Dole Scum Annual 2006 – How to get rich my doing nothing but having kids
4. WaG Annual 2006 – How to marry a rich footballer with no brains
5. Politicians Annual 2006 – How to lie yourself to riches
6. Pigeons Annual 2006 – How to aim your shit
7. Dog & Cat Annual 2006 – How to annoy everyone but your owner
8. Book Dealers Annual 2006 – How to get rich by pieces of paper – It is scarce!
9. Alcoholics Annual 2006 – One more for the road
10. Pot Smokers Annual 2006 – Is the grass really greener?
11. Eunuch Annual 2006 – How big is your glass?

The Witches have not the slightest interest in footballers of any age ……. instead we are about to begin our research on the spicy lives of head chefs, featuring the glamour, the danger and the underground networks. With this work of art we expect to pull in the budding cooks, the romantics, the curious and the thrill seekers. Just so you know where to put it on your bookcase …. somewhere between Lady Chatterley and Jamie Oliver. We shall place all the ingredients of this epic into a prepared dish and then steam gently. WoE
p.s. can we rely on your chocolate fondant?