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Sunday, March 30, 2008

March 2008 Bookstore Pilgrimage

I've pretty much been on a reading spree in the past three months (I've apparently read over 40 books in the past three months, a big accomplishment considering I read 55 books last year) and so I've renewed my monthly bookstore pilgrimages.


Something photo-worthy is Fully Booked's new practice of lining water bottles (occasionally filled with some strange red liquid) to cover their windows. I honestly have no idea why they have done so, or what the red liquid means (are they re-enacting the passover and afraid that somebody will claim their first born child?).

Another development is that I've started to use the book-ordering services of various bookstores. I've been using the opportunity to spy on the services they're using. Powerbooks uses Ingram for example. Fully Booked on the other hand uses a combination of Amazon and some non-browser based program. We'll see how it all pans out in the weeks to come.

Oh, and here are some books that I've read recently and highly recommend (interestingly enough, one for each genre: fantasy, science fiction, and horror):

The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford
Where to Buy: Powerbooks

The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction Vol. 2 edited by George Mann
Where to Buy: Fully Booked, National Bookstore

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
Where to Buy: Fully Booked, National Bookstore, Powerbooks

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2 comments:

  1. cecille3/31/2008 8:52 AM

    do you know what service national bookstore uses? it's the 1st time i've made an inquiry on their site about a book.

    i've tried ordering at powerbooks before and i didn't like it because i had to claim the book in 3 days (if i remember right), which is hard on a busy sched. X(

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  2. Charles3/31/2008 9:03 AM

    I suspect it's Ingram as well since Powerbooks works with the same supplier.

    Unfortunately, I know you're busy considering your schedule, but most bookstores operate on a similar principle. After all, they have no guarantee that you'll come back for the book and it's considered a loss for their business so they need people to claim their books as soon as possible (think of it in the same paradigm as you would a "reserved" book).

    Having said that, I've seen several books lying around in the customer service booth of Powerbooks and Fully Booked.

    The only bookstore that I know which allows a long claim time is Booktopia but then again, my friend who avails of their services has a track record and sturdy relationship with them.

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