Quote:
Originally Posted by Renate
I never dug those café/bookstores.
I just hated the mess and piles of books everywhere and people wandering with drinks.
I used to love serious bookstores, academic or foreign.
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I rarely see people wandering with drinks in a bookstore with a café-- they keep their books in the café area. Most people would be too nervous about spilling the drink and having to pay for the books. Yes, you will always have screwups, but you have them everywhere, not just in bookstores.
The B&N that I visit the most often removed most of the seating except in the café area. Borders used to have chairs and tables all over (not just the café). And that's where people would leave books on tables, etc. (OTOH while the staff members hate that, they also hate it when customers misshelve the books.) But it looks like most bookstores cut back on the "islands" of seating.
I am also not crazy about shopping in a "serious" bookstore that doesn't at least have a place where I can sit down and look at a potential purchase. They don't have to have a café, but they should at least have a place for serious readers to decide between books. Also, they should remember that some people can't stand for very long without taking a break.
For example, a B&N opened up near us without a café, and on their grand opening day, a staff member had to go get a folding chair for an elderly customer who had trouble staying on his feet for long periods. They do have a few nice chairs in other areas -- but I'm not sure if they added them after the grand opening.
I have come to like the atmosphere in bookstores that have cafés. I'll take it over those indie bookstores that pride themselves in never having genre fiction.