Things Change

On a recent trip to the bookstore, I had a sort of wake up call, and realized that an era was ending…

Last weekend, I trekked to Recycle Bookstore West, for a periodic dose of late horseracing mystery writer, Dick Francis. But the store had realigned their shelves and consolidated their offering. There were still a few Francis’ titles available, but the volume of the Edgar Award winning master was about fifteen percent of normal.

I asked the more senior woman behind the counter about this. She was not old, but she was someone there I knew was tenured and knowledgeable. She said they’d reduced their stock, but that I might want to check their other location, which was likely to have a greater selection.

I went to that location, Recycle Bookstore, today, and they had eliminated their entire Francis canon, and told me that “older” writers like Lawrence Block had also been nixed.

I was slightly shocked. I mean I expected this of a Barnes & Noble, or even Walmart or Target (with regard to any item as well as books), they offer what sells and nothing else, but a used bookstore?

I figure they have to stay afloat, and that the titles weren’t selling, but to eliminate them altogether… how would people learn about characters like Sid Halley, Bernie Rhodenbarr and Matt Scudder?

I realize these familiar friends were not real-life heroes and were not without flaws, but to see a bookstore eject them en masse and entirely, doubtless with many others was troubling nonetheless.

The man at Recycle Bookstore said they’d cut their mystery section by twenty-five percent. I remarked that I preferred to get my books at the mom and pop stores (not in so many words), and that I’d have to go to Amazon now, and the man jokingly said that I had his permission.

Cold glass. Lots of water. I’m awake now… oh well, I guess my reading journey will come to an end one day, and I suppose until then I’ll have to find new writers to enjoy (not a bad thing), and to go online to reminisce with the “old” ones…