The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble
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wrote on 28 Dec 2022, 18:44 last edited by
I fucking hated B&N for many years. But I stopped laughing once it became the only legitimate national bookstore available. Where I live now, there's no other credible place to buy books within about 60 miles.
With massive toy sections, shitty books that only publishers wanted on the shelves, and even shittier coffee at their "cafes," it looked like they were in the same tailspin that book Borders out. But I kept going in just out of habit. I like looking at books.
Then, James Daunt came in and shook everything up.
I knew about half the stuff laid out in this article just through personal experience, but the other half was both surprising and not.
https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/what-can-we-learn-from-barnes-and
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wrote on 28 Dec 2022, 22:22 last edited by
All we have locally.
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wrote on 28 Dec 2022, 22:44 last edited by
One of the most famous in Chicago was Stuart Brent books, on Michigan Avenue. It's long gone, and I don't know if there are any bookstores in the area anymore.
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wrote on 28 Dec 2022, 23:41 last edited by
My daughter works in an independent non-profit bookstore. These places are apparently very popular with authors, and usually in fairly academic towns. It's a great bookstore.
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My daughter works in an independent non-profit bookstore. These places are apparently very popular with authors, and usually in fairly academic towns. It's a great bookstore.
wrote on 29 Dec 2022, 00:38 last edited by@Mik said in The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble:
My daughter works in an independent non-profit bookstore. These places are apparently very popular with authors, and usually in fairly academic towns.
Indeed. They're very author-friendly. Especially locals and up-and-comers.
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wrote on 29 Dec 2022, 00:53 last edited by
My daughter used to work round the corner from an independent bookstore that was started up and owned by Jeff Kinney, who wrote The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. The franchise probably helps quite a bit with the funding.
It's a really nice friendly place to visit, and they have authors visit, but I'm not sure how many books they sell - it's in a small town (where Jeff Kinney lives, obviously).
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My daughter used to work round the corner from an independent bookstore that was started up and owned by Jeff Kinney, who wrote The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. The franchise probably helps quite a bit with the funding.
It's a really nice friendly place to visit, and they have authors visit, but I'm not sure how many books they sell - it's in a small town (where Jeff Kinney lives, obviously).
wrote on 29 Dec 2022, 02:06 last edited by@Doctor-Phibes said in The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble:
My daughter used to work round the corner from an independent bookstore that was started up and owned by Jeff Kinney, who wrote The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. The franchise probably helps quite a bit with the funding.
It's a really nice friendly place to visit, and they have authors visit, but I'm not sure how many books they sell - it's in a small town (where Jeff Kinney lives, obviously).
I visited a ridiculously small town in Australia—I mean even by their standards it was remote—where everything was named after Spike Milligan. I always wondered what the connection was.
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@Doctor-Phibes said in The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble:
My daughter used to work round the corner from an independent bookstore that was started up and owned by Jeff Kinney, who wrote The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. The franchise probably helps quite a bit with the funding.
It's a really nice friendly place to visit, and they have authors visit, but I'm not sure how many books they sell - it's in a small town (where Jeff Kinney lives, obviously).
I visited a ridiculously small town in Australia—I mean even by their standards it was remote—where everything was named after Spike Milligan. I always wondered what the connection was.
wrote on 29 Dec 2022, 02:12 last edited by@Aqua-Letifer said in The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble:
everything was named after Spike Milligan
OK, this needs expansion...
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wrote on 29 Dec 2022, 02:12 last edited by
Waterstone and Borders and some independents - I remember loving to visit various cities for their bookstores. I don't travel any longer. I haven't been in Barnes & Noble in a couple of years. I may have to give it a try. My spouse is a bookaholic as well.
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@Doctor-Phibes said in The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble:
My daughter used to work round the corner from an independent bookstore that was started up and owned by Jeff Kinney, who wrote The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. The franchise probably helps quite a bit with the funding.
It's a really nice friendly place to visit, and they have authors visit, but I'm not sure how many books they sell - it's in a small town (where Jeff Kinney lives, obviously).
I visited a ridiculously small town in Australia—I mean even by their standards it was remote—where everything was named after Spike Milligan. I always wondered what the connection was.
wrote on 29 Dec 2022, 03:05 last edited by Doctor Phibes@Aqua-Letifer said in The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble:
@Doctor-Phibes said in The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble:
My daughter used to work round the corner from an independent bookstore that was started up and owned by Jeff Kinney, who wrote The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. The franchise probably helps quite a bit with the funding.
It's a really nice friendly place to visit, and they have authors visit, but I'm not sure how many books they sell - it's in a small town (where Jeff Kinney lives, obviously).
I visited a ridiculously small town in Australia—I mean even by their standards it was remote—where everything was named after Spike Milligan. I always wondered what the connection was.
It wasn't Woy Woy by any chance, was it?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/oct/04/australia.davidfickling
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wrote on 29 Dec 2022, 03:08 last edited by Copper
I worked in the college bookstore for a few years, mid 1970s.
B&N might have been our biggest supplier of used text books. I think that was the majority of the business back then. They had a large store in NYC, I remember mostly used books, but I don't think they had much other retail at the time.
They have redefined themselves more than once.
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@Aqua-Letifer said in The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble:
@Doctor-Phibes said in The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble:
My daughter used to work round the corner from an independent bookstore that was started up and owned by Jeff Kinney, who wrote The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. The franchise probably helps quite a bit with the funding.
It's a really nice friendly place to visit, and they have authors visit, but I'm not sure how many books they sell - it's in a small town (where Jeff Kinney lives, obviously).
I visited a ridiculously small town in Australia—I mean even by their standards it was remote—where everything was named after Spike Milligan. I always wondered what the connection was.
It wasn't Woy Woy by any chance, was it?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/oct/04/australia.davidfickling
wrote on 29 Dec 2022, 03:11 last edited by@Doctor-Phibes said in The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble:
@Aqua-Letifer said in The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble:
@Doctor-Phibes said in The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble:
My daughter used to work round the corner from an independent bookstore that was started up and owned by Jeff Kinney, who wrote The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. The franchise probably helps quite a bit with the funding.
It's a really nice friendly place to visit, and they have authors visit, but I'm not sure how many books they sell - it's in a small town (where Jeff Kinney lives, obviously).
I visited a ridiculously small town in Australia—I mean even by their standards it was remote—where everything was named after Spike Milligan. I always wondered what the connection was.
It wasn't Woy Woy by any chance, was it?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/oct/04/australia.davidfickling
Holy shit it absolutely was.
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wrote on 29 Dec 2022, 03:33 last edited by
I haven’t visited a Barnes & Noble for a long time. I will make it a point to visit one soon just because of this thread.
From the article @Aqua-Letifer linked earlier:
… the lesson is so simple. // If you want to sell music, you must love those songs. If you want to succeed in journalism, you must love those newspapers. If you want to succeed in movies, you must love the cinema.
Perhaps there are limits to this “simple lesson.” I cannot quite see a resurgence of Block Buster stores based on love for the movies or the cinema. On the political front, does it follow that “if you want to succeed at governing, you must love the government (institutions)”? This would suggest that the “the government is the problem” crowd will not succeed at governing, no?
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wrote on 29 Dec 2022, 08:20 last edited by jon-nyc
There are two within 5mi of me, 4 within 10. They have large children’s sections and sell puzzles and games too.
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I haven’t visited a Barnes & Noble for a long time. I will make it a point to visit one soon just because of this thread.
From the article @Aqua-Letifer linked earlier:
… the lesson is so simple. // If you want to sell music, you must love those songs. If you want to succeed in journalism, you must love those newspapers. If you want to succeed in movies, you must love the cinema.
Perhaps there are limits to this “simple lesson.” I cannot quite see a resurgence of Block Buster stores based on love for the movies or the cinema. On the political front, does it follow that “if you want to succeed at governing, you must love the government (institutions)”? This would suggest that the “the government is the problem” crowd will not succeed at governing, no?
wrote on 29 Dec 2022, 12:03 last edited by@Axtremus said in The Bizarre Resurgence of Barnes & Noble:
I haven’t visited a Barnes & Noble for a long time. I will make it a point to visit one soon just because of this thread.
From the article @Aqua-Letifer linked earlier:
… the lesson is so simple. // If you want to sell music, you must love those songs. If you want to succeed in journalism, you must love those newspapers. If you want to succeed in movies, you must love the cinema.
Perhaps there are limits to this “simple lesson.” I cannot quite see a resurgence of Block Buster stores based on love for the movies or the cinema. On the political front, does it follow that “if you want to succeed at governing, you must love the government (institutions)”? This would suggest that the “the government is the problem” crowd will not succeed at governing, no?
Your lack of reading comprehension is amazing. He wasn't talking about customers, he was talking about the people in leadership positions at companies. Honestly, if you can't be bothered to even read the article, don't comment on it.
