The French Still Flock to Bookstores

[paul secor]

NY Times article

Perhaps a simplification but, at least from this article, it seems that the French value their culture, while Americans value money.

I'm not French, so I can't speak for them, but I do think that Americans tend to value money over all else.

[Big Beat Steve]

On my travels through France (and always on the lookout for more stuff of interest to cram my bookshelves with, either new or secondhand), I have had similar experiences.

What the author says needs to be qualified in one aspect, though: While large chain bookstores such as FNAC or Cultura are omnipresent in larger cities and no doubt do take up an immense share of the overall market (not least of all because they do carry a very in-depth range of books), smaller neighborhood or specialist brick-and-mortar bookstores do seem to hang on much more tenciously and manage to survive indeed.

As far as I can see they are aided by one major aspect of the book market that I have often observed in my collecting/hobby areas: French publishers seem to be ENORMOUSLY more willing and able to take risks on real niche subjects, both in the way they publish books that CAN only appeal to a very select and discerning target audience and in the way they venture to have (mostly English) books catering to these niche markets TRANSLATED into the French language (for domestic marketing).

Both aspects, for example, are in marked contrast to the German book market, and while it is true that all too many French are at odds with any foreign language skills, mastery of English cannot (and is not) that more common in Germany to the extent that translations would not be worth the effort, particularly since many potential buyers are not even aware of the existence of the books in question. I would not count the number of cases where during my visits to French bookstores I have come across French versions of highly interesting special-interest books that I had no idea they even existed in their original language!

In the same way, the range of special-interest niche books they publish on their own really is amazing, and I feel this also helps real-life bookstores to hang on as it allows them to carry a range of books off the trodden paths of the typical mass-consumption articles.

Edited June 21, 2012 by Big Beat Steve

[BillF]

Use of the internet in France has not quite reached the level seen in this country, so that French readers are more likely still to seek their material in bookstores rather than through downloads.

Edited June 21, 2012 by BillF

[Head Man]

At one time book discounting was banned in France so it was as cheap to buy from your local bookstore as it was to buy on-line. I presume that's all finished now, is it?

[David Ayers]

At one time book discounting was banned in France so it was as cheap to buy from your local bookstore as it was to buy on-line. I presume that's all finished now, is it?

No. Discounting which you find mainly online is limited to 5%. Correct me if I am wrong, someone.

Love the Paris bookshops.

[Big Beat Steve]

At one time book discounting was banned in France so it was as cheap to buy from your local bookstore as it was to buy on-line. I presume that's all finished now, is it?

No. Discounting which you find mainly online is limited to 5%. Correct me if I am wrong, someone.

You are not wrong, and things go even further. FNAC and other bookstores will often discount by 5% too so you won't even save anything buying online. It's just a matter of convenience for those not living near any decent bookshop.

Many books do go into heavy discounting some time after their initial marketing period has elapsed, though (they do not necessarily have to have gone out of print for good yet, however), and even there major cities have a very decent and well-established network of bookshops that carry these reduced-price books and therefore attract business to their "main" line of books too (because nowhere near all books will end up on discounters' tables so no use waiting if you WANT that book).

Edited June 21, 2012 by Big Beat Steve

[brownie]

Living on the edge of the Latin Quarter, my neighborhood is crowded with bookshops (large and small) plus the bouquinistes stalls on the quais along the Seine river. Books aplenty.

But Paris seems to be an exception. Many bookstores in the provinces have closed and bookseekers take their pick on the internet.

[Pete C]

Perhaps a simplification but, at least from this article, it seems that the French value their culture, while Americans value money.

Well, in a nutshell that's what Toqueville found over 200 years ago.

[BeBop]

There was a somewhet interesting article in last Sunday's Sacramento (California) Bee about record stores branching out into books to maintain their financial viability.

Dimple Records: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/17/4565791/dimple-records-to-open-first-stand.html

[Big Beat Steve]

Living on the edge of the Latin Quarter, my neighborhood is crowded with bookshops (large and small) plus the bouquinistes stalls on the quais along the Seine river. Books aplenty.

But Paris seems to be an exception. Many bookstores in the provinces have closed and bookseekers take their pick on the internet.

I can speak only for very few regions in France that I visit relatively regularly, but I was surprised to find special-interest books aimed at a collector audience not only in Strasbourg (outside FNAC, mind you) but even in bookshops in smaller Alsatian towns such as Haguenau. And judging by what you normally would expect from the "book" section in shopping centers such as Hyper U, the selection I recently came across in their outlet near Beziers in Southern France seems to indicate that there still are enough customers who buy not only the most trivial fiction, novels or pop musician bios but also much more specialized books in those outlets. Or else the books departments would not stock this kind of items. Overall things may be on the decline in France as well but somehow I feel they still are soldiering on better than elsewhere indeed. So the article linked initially does not come as a total surprise.

[Pete C]

Now I've got a craving for a flammenkuche.

[Quincy]

Perhaps a simplification but, at least from this article, it seems that the French value their culture, while Americans value money.

In recent years comics have been at the top of best seller lists, so it's nice that you consider comics culture. I do.

I think think the leading cause of there being more of interest in local book stores is the pricing laws. Had Amazon been forced to sell books 30% higher I'm sure most of our independent shops would have survived too.

[JSngry]

Now I've got a craving for a flammenkuche.

Do the French frequently flock to flammenkuche?

[GA Russell]

Perhaps a simplification but, at least from this article, it seems that the French value their culture, while Americans value money.

In recent years comics have been at the top of best seller lists, so it's nice that you consider comics culture. I do.

I think think the leading cause of there being more of interest in local book stores is the pricing laws. Had Amazon been forced to sell books 30% higher I'm sure most of our independent shops would have survived too.

Quincy, it wasn't Amazon who put the local bookshops out of business. It was Barnes & Noble and Borders. The publishers gave those two volume discounts, and the small shops couldn't compete against that.

[BruceH]

Perhaps a simplification but, at least from this article, it seems that the French value their culture, while Americans value money.

In recent years comics have been at the top of best seller lists, so it's nice that you consider comics culture. I do.

I think think the leading cause of there being more of interest in local book stores is the pricing laws. Had Amazon been forced to sell books 30% higher I'm sure most of our independent shops would have survived too.

Quincy, it wasn't Amazon who put the local bookshops out of business. It was Barnes & Noble and Borders. The publishers gave those two volume discounts, and the small shops couldn't compete against that.

Quite right. Then the same big-box bookstores that put the independent and local bookshops out of business were thumped by the internet. Borders went out of business completely, B&N just hanging on.

[cih]

The best thing about Borders was the choice of magazines, there's nothing comparable any more.

[David Ayers]

It was kind of a shock when Borders went, to see big familiar stores which I had been hanging out in for years just sell up and close.

That nearly happened here with Waterstones which was saved by an enthusiast with money. That might not last.

Edited June 22, 2012 by David Ayers

[rostasi]

I went to Borders for the magazines as well.

Last month, I was disheartened to find that

B & N changed their hours so that they now

close at 10PM instead of 11. This is exactly

what happened months before Borders closed

their doors. OK, maybe B & N is more in touch

with readers than Borders was, but it still could

be an omen.

Big fan of Buchhandlung Walther König!

I carry an extra suitcase for places like that.

®ø∂

[BillF]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/shortcuts/2012/jun/24/why-is-france-shunning-ebooks?INTCMP=SRCH

[kinuta]

Digitally downloaded books seem to have made zero impact in Tokyo. Personally I'll stick to real books.

Seeing someone actually reading a book on the train is becoming more and more a rarity. The zombie smartphone and I-pod brigade rule.

[Tom Storer]

Digitally downloaded books seem to have made zero impact in Tokyo. Personally I'll stick to real books.

Seeing someone actually reading a book on the train is becoming more and more a rarity. The zombie smartphone and I-pod brigade rule.

I had no interest in electronic books until I was given an e-reader as a gift. Then I discovered that:

- It's handy to carry dozens of book in one light device.

- It's practical to be able to read it with one hand while holding on to the pole in the metro when you don't have a seat.

- It's VERY comfortable, for these old eyes, to be able to increase the font size.

- The lack of back-lighting is also easy on the eyes.

- To read electronic books, you don't have to give up real ones. You can do both (although not at the same time, usually).

I've been using my e-reader to read public-domain classics, which you can generally get for free, so I haven't spent a penny on it. Contemporary books I purchase in real-book format, so I can share them. Lack of easy shareability is the greatest drawback to e-books, in my view.

[Quincy]

- To read electronic books, you don't have to give up real ones. You can do both (although not at the same time, usually).

Although we have an iPad I just maintain it (iPads are tough to share), so I don't have a e-reader of my own yet. But having tried it out I've decided to limit my current reading of old fashioned books to those that are roughly 300 pages or less. Anything that's fatter, very heavy or binded in an annoying way will be put off until I get an iPad or Kindle. If I relied on public trans or flew more I'd already have a device by now.