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I wonder if this is why I've never found much joy in browsing at chain bookstores (Indigo, in Canada). It's all just bestsellers, and half the products aren't e
by mikepurvis 5y ago
I wonder if this is why I've never found much joy in browsing at chain bookstores (Indigo, in Canada). It's all just bestsellers, and half the products aren't even books, they're like kitchy home-decor items, candles, blankets, cozy "reading" pajamas and whatnot. I guess it's lures intended to stimulate impulse purchases out of people who already know they're not going to read anything they buy anyway.
Whereas you go to the indie store and there's an entire shelf in the back dedicated to heraldry, seemingly for no other reason than that it's an area of acute personal interest for the proprietor.
- tlavoie 5y agoChapters was great when they first opened, with a massive selection of books on many topics. Even without much in the way of curation, the selection alone made it possible to go a bit nuts with purchases. Over time, their selection became poorer and poorer. Say, the "computer science" section of old, eventually lost anything like a text book, and became a few shelves of certification guides and "X for Dummies" books. Getting bought by Indigo only brought the coup de grace, when half of _those_ books were now replaced with candles and kitsch.
- mikepurvis 5y agoI just can't get over the fact that there are so few actual books at Indigo now, that the mock living room sitting area set up in the middle of the store has billboard walls around it printed with murals depicting bookshelves.
- tlavoie 5y agoOh, oh no. That's just gross. I don't live close to an Indigo store now, and usually don't bother to enter the nearest when I am around. I'll have to go and look for this cringe now though.