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"But most of my best book finds have been accidental meetings on bookstore shelves, which is nearly possible in the ebook world if you don’t have a search term."
Who are these people who have apparently never shopped at a large online book retailer? The "customers who bought this, also bought this" aspect of online book shopping, along with the review system, has resulted in ridiculously more discoveries for me than any bookstore.
I recently came across Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell on Amazon due to following a link from another book I liked. I had been searching for a book similar to the one I had just read and written a review for, and Norrell wound up fitting the bill perfectly. I was out to dinner with a friend recently, and I recommended it. He doesn't have an ereader, and there was a Barnes and Noble nearby. They didn't have it. Out of stock. It was a huge NYT bestseller, not some obscure book. Aside from the obvious lack means of discovering books at a b&m store by seeing a list of books other people liked similarly, there was the lack of it being on the shelves at all. I wouldn't have discovered it there.
"We can order it for you."
"Yeah, so can I, and not for the $27.95 cover price you'll charge me."
Actually I said "No thank you," because I'm not a jerk. but still.
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