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.