tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18086590.post114243035135201632..comments2023-12-23T05:12:55.809-05:00Comments on The Written Nerd: Comment: Bookseller/Blogger To Watch; Bookstores & ChaosBook Nerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896226559142059293noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18086590.post-1143317688997683882006-03-25T15:14:00.000-05:002006-03-25T15:14:00.000-05:00Tidy! I'm a semi-compulsive neat freak, and I lov...Tidy! I'm a semi-compulsive neat freak, and I love the sight of books standing upright on their shelves (the regular grids of the shelves gently containing the relative chaos of the books). No teetering piles of books on the floor, please, or books wedged two rows deep into overflowing shelves. I like a small shop in which I can discern the personality of the proprietor, and in which it is obvious that the proprietor respects books. I like this type of shop so much that I opened one myself...Sarah Faragherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05549704219837574185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18086590.post-1142606123776550702006-03-17T09:35:00.000-05:002006-03-17T09:35:00.000-05:00What great thoughts! It seems that the general co...What great thoughts! It seems that the general consensus is that there's a place for both order and chaos in a good bookstore, and each store has to find its own balance between the two. I especially liked Eileen's suggestion that the chaos should exist in the bookseller's mind! I appreciate hearing from you all - it's good to know what real bookstore junkies are thinking.<BR/><BR/>Barry, great that you're coming to New York! Off hand, I'd say Greenwich Village and environs would be the best neighborhood for concentrated bookstore acreage. But sometime before June I'll post a more complete rundown of my favorite bookstores in the city, with locations so you can track them down.<BR/><BR/>Happy bookstore hopping!Book Nerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02896226559142059293noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18086590.post-1142569736789717812006-03-16T23:28:00.000-05:002006-03-16T23:28:00.000-05:00On a quasi-related note, I will be having my first...On a quasi-related note, I will be having my first trip to New York in June, with only a few days to see the whole place. Any recommendations as to particular districts in which indie/used bookshops are particularly thick on the ground, or as to particular shops to look for (I'd be looking for "good" fiction) would be very helpful. Neatness or scruffiness won't be a problem for me.Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01192508192861520882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18086590.post-1142569563505485232006-03-16T23:26:00.000-05:002006-03-16T23:26:00.000-05:00I'm thinking preferences are formed with what you ...I'm thinking preferences are formed with what you grow up with: in my early days, there were very few specialist bookshops to go to, so we'd have very tidiliy organised shops that sold a mixture of stationery, toys and books and never anything very interesting. Then I found a second hand bookshop called Hard To Find, and it was heaven: it was two double-storied shops joined together, there was a basic structure to the organisation of the books, but the place was old and a bit ramshackle, and Warwick had odd fixations as well as too many books, so there would be big piles of things all over the place, plus the things he was fixated on would pop up in strange places, just so there'd be a chance they'd come to our attention.<BR/><BR/>Of course, when I travelled, even shops like Borders and Dillons in London were a complete revelation in terms of what a bookshop could be, and I imagine when I finally get to Powells, I might want to camp there for a couple of days. But, curiously enough, the best bookshop I have seen in recent times was both fairly small and perfectly ordered. The thing that made it the best was that the selection so perfectly reflected the things I am into that I wanted to just move in.Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01192508192861520882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18086590.post-1142523875751219662006-03-16T10:44:00.000-05:002006-03-16T10:44:00.000-05:00I prefer the books all organized and kept that way...I prefer the books all organized and kept that way. I don't shop well in chaos. I want things in their proper places. Although I try to shop whenever possible in used bookstores, I like the clean, neat and organized nature of the chains.JoanneMarie Fausthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16751278640738482830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18086590.post-1142456935171180452006-03-15T16:08:00.000-05:002006-03-15T16:08:00.000-05:00I like the store to be clean, have good signage & ...I like the store to be clean, have good signage & be well-lit. I don't want to get a headache just from walking in. I want to be able to find what I want without too much difficulty. I know how hard it is to keep the shelves alphabetized, so I try to put books back in the right place if I've taken them off the shelf.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18086590.post-1142451710508141072006-03-15T14:41:00.000-05:002006-03-15T14:41:00.000-05:00I like em tidy- but I like when the bookseller's m...I like em tidy- but I like when the bookseller's mind is a bit chaotic and strangely cross referenced. When I bring a book to the front I want to see those wheels turning and have them say "Oh you like X? Have you ever read Y?" and have it be something I would never have found on my own.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com