Book Geek

 

My trip to the bookstore was inspired by sad news in the S.F. Chronicle: the famous bookstore in Opera Place, A Clean and Well-Lighted Place, is being sold.  Books aren't the attraction they once were for young people or old people, and especially not for working people. What is an attraction is the soda/coffee bar and hanging out.

Almost all of today's bookstore attendees were women. About the only men in the store were cashiers and helpers. Oh, yes, there were the young male hangers at the coffee bar trying to stick to young women. And, a very few young men attending their girlfriends, young women in control. Several twenty-something men (no women) with graduate student demeanor sat in chairs or on the floor absorbed in reading one or more books. I did notice a few grey haired ladies looking about, which is really unusual in this City dominated by University students. (There is no perceptible aging baby boomer/retirement bubble problem in Davis. I'm safe here, as long as I stay home and avoid the only nursing home, commonly suspected of being a lethal trap.) The women in the store avoided me, and obviously wondered why I was there. An old, fat, nearly disabled man is not welcomed by those suffering hormonal heat not chilled by air conditioning. I, on the other hand, was appreciative of a spot of cool air in this hot Sacramento valley town. (And we haven't even got to summer yet!)

The disdain of young women is especially noticeable when they pull down their shirts or tops to cover up the latest style, naked midriffs. They arrest men for being flashers, but I guess women can get away with it. Sorry, sexist, male chauvinist pig Walter still thinks sex is a women's business. As a young man, I didn't have a chance, and now I understand exactly why. The young men who are not in this store are the lucky ones, but they won't know that for 30 or 40 years.

But all of that has nothing to do with the reason of my trip: looking at books. I wanted to see the effects of the Internet, which are the cause of Well-Lighted's starvation.

This bookstore is stocked with more best sellers than ever. The shelves are full of Tom Friedman (who I won't buy) and a few other authors. A few years ago, this bookstore sported a lot more variety, but all that has been narrowed down and pushed aside. There's a lot more fiction than before, and a lot more discount offers. Much of the fiction is the trash romantic novel (formula book) variety. There's less teenage boy science fiction than before. I think computer games are eating into that readership. Being a philosopher, I noticed the Philosophy section had been further reduced since my last visit. That space seems to have been taken up by expanded American history shelves. The Civil War seems to have gathered interest lately, and most of the male readers were near it.

A smaller, competing store a few blocks away has more variety. The obvious difference is the clientele. There's no coffee bar in the other place. The last time I was there, it was nearly empty except for a few obviously well-to-do matrons. The other store has all the best sellers, too, but few discounts. What the other store does have is a collection that interests serious readers, usually quite educated and affluent people. This store has survived, and even gets on BOOK TV now and then, while many other Davis bookstores are gone.

Among the books that interested me - all non-fiction - were Ruth Scurr's Fatal Purity: Robespierre and the French Revolution and Albright's book. I might buy, read and review Scurr's book at a later date as the book looks substantial, and is about a  fascinating subject. I didn't even crack the cover of several political books now available, all in the Bush-bashing mode. While I detest the Bandit, Bush-bashing has become a shopworn, now boring, genre. I did thumb through Kevin Phillips' latest, American Theocracy : The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21stCentury. I have been a long time Kevin Phillips reader, but I think I'll try that one at the library. (I have to restrain myself, as I am a sucker for books I can't afford.)

I was surprised to find the amount of shelf space devoted to Food Network stars, Rachel and Giada. More shelf space was devoted to Hollywood celebrities than ever before. There was Jane Fonda's book, and Barbra Streisand's book, and ... and ... and ... That was a definite shift form the old days. I felt I was in the midst of the E! (entertainment) channel.

The amount of reading related to religion has increased dramatically since my last visit. This is especially appalling considering that religion was scarcely present a few years ago. Whole tables and stands are devoted to the Da Vinci Code and the marginalia it inspired. The readers seem to prefer fantasy books like that or escapist romantic novels; anything but reality.

Eventually, I picked up the Albright book on an urge - that's the way things are sold these days. It's about religion, too, but at least Mme. Albright tries to connect it with some all too familiar reality.

When I got to the check out counter, I told the young fellow I was a local author. I asked how to get on the local author shelf. He told me, and we discussed that for a while. He suggested I write a book about Davis, but I declined the invitation. I learned getting presented at an author's event apparently takes high level management approval. I can see this will be difficult. I told him the other store had got an event on CSPAN BOOK TV. He said, "How could we have missed that?" He observed that BOOK TV seems to pay a lot more attention to their largest competitor, BARNES & NOBLE, insinuating collusion. "But, you bought a book here anyway, didn't you?" he said. He waved me on, noting the long line of customers behind me waiting to be checked out.

Bookstores are not the agora they once were, although Cody's still holds forth in Berkeley. (Do I want to crawl through 65 miles of traffic jams for the pleasure?) I wondered whether my book was listed in the right places? I realized my goal is to have GSQ considered in "serious" circles. What I saw at the bookstore was, for the most part, anything but "serious." But, maybe this society has no outlet for people like me, who think my thoughts and dream my dreams. It's not the first time I've had that feeling. I've always tried to escape it, but maybe I should just accept it and withdraw.