Book Sellers

"A good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read."

- Terry Pratchett

{photo credit: Pinterest}

I love books. 

I love holding them, smelling them, stacking them.

I love the special warmth of dappled sunlight reflected off paper pages.

I love beautiful hardbacks, and ratty paperbacks,

and the beautiful words that hide between inconspicuous covers.

(If you're paying attention, that was me also saying that I love reading books.)

I also naturally love the finding, borrowing, and buying of books.

I love libraries.

I love good friends who trust me with their treasures.

(Recommend a book to me that I love, and I will love you too.  Forever.)

I love book sellers and book shops.

And as a lover of all things book-related, I like to think I am not a snob.

There's a lot of angst in the air these days about the death of proper bookshops.

And don't get me wrong, I hope I don't live to see the day that the last cozy,

poky, musty shop-shaped purveyor of printed words fades from the streets.

But I just as I don't think that the invention of the Kindle will do away with books,
or that the internet will do away with libraries,
I don't think Amazon will do away with bookshops.
So long as there is a demand, there will be a supply.
Those who crave paper and a shop with a bell
over the door will keep the binders binding
and the booksellers safely behind their registers.

More to the point, the spirit lives on.
Stories are still stories, a new book still brings a thrill whether it's
handed over a shop counter or lifted from a padded envelope,
and book sellers... well, they are as eccentric as ever.

I recently purchased a second-hand book over AbeBooks.com,

and received it promptly and in good condition. 

A few weeks later, I received this follow-up message:

Dear Sarah,

We're just checking in to see if you received your order: The Development of the Detective Novel

If your order hasn't blessed your mailbox just yet, heads are gonna roll in the Better World Books warehouse! Seriously though, if you haven't received your order or are less than 108.8% satisfied, please reply to this message. Let us know what we can do to flabbergast you with service.

Thanks again for your support!

Humbly Yours,
Better World Books

Feeling that one pleasant turn deserves another, I replied:

Dear Better World Books,

I am indeed utterly flabbergasted by your extensive attention to my happiness and well-being! Would that all my shopping experiences were as excellent as this, and all online sellers as charming. In answer to your question, I received my book promptly and was at least 109.7% satisfied with my order. I hope this preserves all employees from decapitation, and even puts them in line for some variety of privilege – free cake, perhaps. Thank you all so much for you impeccable assistance! If there is any way that I can express my gratitude in the form of online feedback, etc., please do not hesitate to tell me.

Sincerely,

Sarah Engel

Alas, I received no further reply.

So in lieu of feedback, I shall just say this:

If you ever find yourself shopping on AbeBooks for a few

choice volumes, please try Better World Books.

They are quite friendly,

as booksellers so

often are.