I was at the Crossword bookstore yesterday, at Strands a couple days ago, at Blossom's a couple of weeks ago... None of the bookstores in Bangalore, it seems, cater to avid readers. Crossword was selling "A Thousand Shining Suns" and Alan Greenspans books as "new arrivals". Strands still had The World is Flat on display. Blossoms had nothing new worth reading. They seem to think that accounts of people graduating through IIMs make for literature. And why there is a sudden explosion of books on this topic is beyond me.
Cleary, I am not their target customer.
I go through at least one book a week, sometimes more. So I am stuck with re-reading old books I have. Also, these bookstores completely fail in exposing someone like me to new authors. You can't really go and browse in these stores in the hopes of finding something interesting to read.
Buying from Amazon costs a bundle -- not just the shipping to India, but also the price of the books themselves. The books that I buy cost 300-600 rupees, or $8-15. On Amazon, the same books are $17-$28. Plus if I want to save the shipping cost, I have to wait for continent-hopping friends to bring the books here.
The bookstores here don't stock the books I want to read, and nor do they offer any alternates that I find interesting. Some days I really miss Barnes and Noble. And Amazon.
Labels
- Science (20)
- Business (10)
- Society (9)
- Women (8)
- Environment (6)
- Just for fun (6)
- Politics (5)
- Education (4)
- Economics (3)
- General (1)
- Leadership (1)
1 comment:
And libraries ..... I would really miss the libraries in the US if I were living someone else. WHY can't we have a better public library system in India? It cannot be that difficult. Though people in India are avid readers for the most part, I guess they read mostly newspapers and magazines ....so reading rooms thrive but not book libraries.
Post a Comment