The B&N near me (new last year) used its front-and-center table, during the holiday shopping season, for those well-made hardback Penguin Classics editions with the elegant foil-stamped covers and no dust jackets — a book lover’s dream, probably not going to catch anyone else’s eye. Of course the new releases were two steps away, but sti…
The B&N near me (new last year) used its front-and-center table, during the holiday shopping season, for those well-made hardback Penguin Classics editions with the elegant foil-stamped covers and no dust jackets — a book lover’s dream, probably not going to catch anyone else’s eye. Of course the new releases were two steps away, but still, it was quite a statement about what kind of store it was: by book lovers, for book lovers. It made me happy. Maybe I’m weird and maybe it’s a niche, but it’s a niche that isn’t going away, and I can’t see how you grow a niche without showing that kind of enthusiasm for it!
The best bookstores, independent or not, get this: books—like vinyl records—are objects that people cherish and collect. I'm still shocked to see the romance novels and "bestsellers" (in quotations because of what Ted just said) sold at drugstores and supermarkets. Could that possibly still be profitable?
Romance novels may not get a lot of respect, but they are the biggest single genre. They're aimed at women, and women read a lot more than men. If nothing else, they've been on a tear lately with sales rising during COVID.
(P.S. I was at an aviation show in Nashville, and among the weather forecasters, radar equipment, airport fixtures, de-icing systems and flight planning services was a romance novelist researching her next book to be set in the exciting and, presumably romantic, world of air traffic control. She was magnificently out of place with a floral themed booth and a long flowing dress, but she said she was getting a lot of great story and background info.)
The B&N near me (new last year) used its front-and-center table, during the holiday shopping season, for those well-made hardback Penguin Classics editions with the elegant foil-stamped covers and no dust jackets — a book lover’s dream, probably not going to catch anyone else’s eye. Of course the new releases were two steps away, but still, it was quite a statement about what kind of store it was: by book lovers, for book lovers. It made me happy. Maybe I’m weird and maybe it’s a niche, but it’s a niche that isn’t going away, and I can’t see how you grow a niche without showing that kind of enthusiasm for it!
The best bookstores, independent or not, get this: books—like vinyl records—are objects that people cherish and collect. I'm still shocked to see the romance novels and "bestsellers" (in quotations because of what Ted just said) sold at drugstores and supermarkets. Could that possibly still be profitable?
Romance novels may not get a lot of respect, but they are the biggest single genre. They're aimed at women, and women read a lot more than men. If nothing else, they've been on a tear lately with sales rising during COVID.
(P.S. I was at an aviation show in Nashville, and among the weather forecasters, radar equipment, airport fixtures, de-icing systems and flight planning services was a romance novelist researching her next book to be set in the exciting and, presumably romantic, world of air traffic control. She was magnificently out of place with a floral themed booth and a long flowing dress, but she said she was getting a lot of great story and background info.)
Those books are also royalty free (dead authors and all) and thus easier to price favorably even with that gilded treatment!
The covers on those Penguin books are indeed beautiful. Unfortunately, they’re plagued by the cheap binding endemic to so many Penguin volumes.