According to a recent article on Times Online, Margaret Atwood has come out against the book buying internet experience. The article claims that Atwood believes 'the joy of stumbling on a captivating book of which you were previously unaware is being undermined by the internet'. I have to say that I fundamentally disagree with this position. I have discovered so many wonderful books through Amazon, Abebooks, Librarything, and various litblogs (such as Baby Got Books, A Work in Progress, Tales From the Reading Room and Me and My Big Mouth), that I remain unconvinced that my days of serendipitous book shopping are over. I do agree with Atwood and Kazuo Ishiguro that the suggestions for 'books I might like' from Amazon are frequently ridiculous, but I do appreciate other buyers' wishlists, choices and reviews. Often I have gone online to buy one book, and ended up with three in the post, and five more on my wishlist. And, after all, the very verb we use to describe exploring the internet is 'browse'. Isn't the internet all about serendipity?
Atwood's pessimistic view of internet book buying is also undermined in that the internet seems to be improving sales in independent and second-hand bookshops, shops which actively encourage book browsing. Amazon's success is being touted as one of the reasons for the drop in sales for the larger bookchains, such as Waterstones and Borders, which has simultaneously increased the popularity of the independent bookshop. Abebooks has offered an alternative shopfront for many second-hand bookshops which otherwise would have a far smaller market. I'll admit that the experience of buying a book in a specialist independent bookshop is very different from buying one via the internet, but I don't accept that we have to set the two in opposition to each other. I think they can both exist side-by-side in a mutually beneficial relationship.
So what was your last serendipitous find, and where did it happen? Do you agree with Atwood that the pleasure of book browsing is absent when we browse online? Where's your favourite book buying haunt, virtual or otherwise?
By the way, if you're interested in independent bookshops (and frankly, who isn't?), check out this walking tour of New York's best. I think I may have to do my own version for Edinburgh!
Wednesday, 25 April 2007
Serendipitous Book Shopping
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6 comments:
Thanks for the link--I will have to go and read that article. For myself I would have missed out on a great number of really excellent books if it weren't for the internet. I have no local acess to Persephone Books--and they have such a wonderful backlist of books--that is my fairly recent find! I also have started using Alibris and AbeBooks more lately, which means sales for smaller used bookstores--again I am finding books I wouldn't otherwise have access to had I not been able to order online. I am pretty good about spreading my book dollars around to a variety of bookshops. I do find lots of books in local bookstores used and new, but sometimes the larger chains only display the more popular books that already get lots of press. I want to find the books that are gems that might not have been reviewed by the big papers and are being pushed by bookstores. And I agree--I also get lots of recommendations of books unheard of by me from other bloggers and by seeing what are on wishlists places like Booksense.com or Bas Bleu (they also have a website). Lately my favorite place to browse books is a cool local used bookstore. Usually reading things online spurs me to go into stores and have an idea what to look for. Still I always discover something new even with a list in hand!
I must admit to a real soft spot for second-hand bookshops too. And I think you're right about the larger bookshops concentrating on popular fiction by bestselling authors. There's just something so satisfying to come across a book, either on the net or at your local independent bookshop, which seems to have slipped under the radar! Thanks so much for commenting.
I worked in a bookstore - several years ago now - and bought fiction so for a while I thought I had a good idea of what was out there. And then, when I discovered blogging, my reading was completely revitalised because I realised how local and out of date my information was! I can't begin to list how many books I have discovered through reviews and recommendations, but the lastest great find was Salley vicker's The Other Side of You. I wouldn't be reading Don Quixote if it weren't for the Tilting At Windmills blog either! I think the book market is always underrepresented, and the more people talking about books in the widest range of places possible is the outcome we should be after.
I absolutely agree, litlove. I know Atwood is lamenting the loss of the tactile experience of non-virtual book browsing, but it seems to me that she misses out on the benefits of web 2.0. Thanks for commenting!
While I haven't read the article itself, I'm going to comment anyway, and then go back to it.
It's hard when a literary giant makes such sweeping statements without necessarily looking at the big picture: places like the Times, the Globe here in Canada, et al, are still reviewing and writing about books. But many conventional places where books used to be promoted etc., are no longer doing so -- and the internet has become a great place to find out about books, connect with an author or read what other people thought about a particular title.
All of which you can't do standing alone in the middle of a book shelf looking at the massive amounts of titles in front of you.
And (this could also be my ignorance) I'm pretty sure when making that statement, Ms. Atwood isn't thinking about the Long Tail or any of the other benefits of the Amazons of the world, where we do virtual browsing and then pointed shopping. Why wouldn't you use the tools at your fingertips to find out if the book you're even interested in resides in the store?
Anyway, I'm sorry for the long rambling response...but for someone who seems so in touch in so many ways, this just feels like a bit of sour grapes.
Thanks for the comment, hip_ragdoll. I have to say that I admire Atwood greatly, and I love her writing, but when reading through the article, it just struck me that my experience didn't chime with her argument. I'm fairly positive that most of the books which nestle on my bookshelves were discovered through the internet, and that a fair few of them were serendipitous finds! Thanks again.
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