Today it is cold and windy out. Having spent most of yesterday out and about I wanted to stay in, but I knew Seressia Glass’s new book, Shadow Blade was going to be released today, so I decided to go ahead and pick it up. Under normal circumstances I would never go to a brick and mortar store, they work the hell out of my nerves. But I also know that Amazon sales don’t count toward various bestseller lists. Seressia is a friend and I want to support her as much as I can. Plus she’s a damned fabulous writer and goodness knows I need something to read.
So, I go to Borders which was a colossal mistake. They don’t have the freaking book! Not only do they not have the book, they only ordered TWO COPIES. From a local writer who used to live around the corner from the goddamned store. I couldn’t believe it. Then they wonder why the industry is undergoing death by a thousand cuts, these people don’t have an effing clue about how to sell a book. Even worse, this woman had an actual physical customer in the store and she let me leave empty handed, she didn’t even try to sell me anything else. For the love of God. When did retailers forget how to retail? This is America, all we know how to do is sell stuff! If I didn’t think so before this confirms it, brick and mortar bookstores will not exist five years from now. They’re going the way of record stores and good riddance.
I picked up Seressia’s book this past weekend from Barnes and Noble. I gobbled it up over the weekend and loved it!
Now see, now I’m really full of anger and resentment.
Hiya!
Roz, I’m so sorry you couldn’t find the book. Borders is going through more changes and it sucks to not have the book there, especially since I probably wrote a chapter or two of Shadow Blade in their cafe. How can you use your 25% off coupon if they don’t have the book you want?
I used to work in a bookstore in the mid 90′s and YES things have really changed. In the past they wanted the staff to read some of the books so they could make good suggestions, and go to the nonfiction sectiona – business, reference, medical, cookbooks etc. to check it out so that they could give customers an idea of what is available. That personal touch kept customers coming back. Then they closed most of the personal stores and opened mega bookstores. It has been downhill ever since that move. Sorry you couldn’t find the book you wanted.