The Indignity of the Remainder Table

I'm not a big fan of bookstores.

Let me clarify: I'm not a big fan of big chain bookstores.* Small bookshops, especially those with live cats (we have two indie shops with feline "employees" in Lawrence), are great. Used bookstores are heaven. I've blogged about them before.

One staple of the big chain store is the remainder table.

How depressing.

Last week, as part of spring break, we spent a short stint in Kansas City. I took the boys to a bookstore (plenty to look at and they were pumped). I picked up a $2 book on a remainder table and read the bio of the author. Her short fiction credits included The New Yorker, Zoetrope...big names. The cover even heralded "New York Times Bestselling Author".

On a remainder table. For $2.

Depressing...

I dream of a world with no remainder tables. An unexpected bonus of the e-book, I suppose.

*I do feel bad for all those folks who lost their jobs with Borders.*

**But I have a friend, a rabid book lover, who thumbs his nose at the other big chain bookstore in Lawrence but he loves Borders. Really? I can't really understand.

Hello, Goodbye

Thanks to everyone who read, commented, and/or rated "Soul Marbles". I appreciated all of it: the good, the bad, the ugly, and in between. Every Day Fiction is a perfect example of the power of online markets. The story garnered 20+ comments and 40+ ratings--you and I know there were many more readers. So, thanks.

Hello to Barry Napier's Masks of Our Fathers, which should be available for purchase on Kindle soon (it's already listed on Amazon). I read Masks in beta, and it's a great ride. Day Terrors, including my short story "Sea of Green, Sea of Gold", is also up for purchase in dead-tree format.

Finally, I must say goodbye to our local Borders store. As part of the bankrupcy, Borders will close 200 stores, including the Lawrence branch. Sorry I didn't buy more books...well...not really. We have a great, thriving indie store, The Raven, just down the street. If I'm going to support a brick and mortar, it'll be the indies.

Have a lovely Thursday. And no, we didn't win yesterday. We took second of ten.