leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (11/28/86)
In article <1488@mit-trillian.MIT.EDU>, newman@mit-trillian.MIT.EDU (Ron Newman) writes: > But why shop at Walden's OR Dalton's? There's very little > difference between them, really--both take the same narrow, > Top 40, lowest-common-denominator approach to book selling. > They do nothing to broaden the public's taste. I am not sure I believe that is entirely true. It is true I would like to see them have a better selection than they do, but they do on occasion have books of some interest. It really depends on the management. > > Foo on them. Find a REAL bookstore in your neighborhood, one owned > and staffed by people who really love books, one that carries the > obscure as well as the popular. A real bookstore knows the tastes of > the people who live around it. A chain carries the same stuff no > matter where it is. Your signature says you are from MIT. Realize that Cambridge may have a better selection than most neighborhoods of this country. I know of one decent bookstore like you describe. It is certainly better than the chains in my area, but the chains often have some reasonable material. They are not great but I think they are better than you seem to think they are. It could be that in your area the chains are less willing to carry obscure books because they know the people who want them will go to the non-chain stores. Besides, after my days in Michigan I wouldn't necessarily want to go to a bookstore that caters to local taste. Mark Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper