I am Disappointed in My Bookstore

I love bookstores.  I love to browse and get lost in the stacks.  I love the sound of children laughing as they page through new stories.  It is the one place that I truly have a difficult time saying 'no' to the barrage of 'I want' from my daughters.  I can always find a justification for going into, and making purchases in the bookstore.  EXCEPT FOR THIS WEEK.

I am mad at my bookstore.

Let me back up for a minute here to explain.

I am currently taking an online class with Anastasia Suen (which is absolutely FABULOUS) and needed to find some books for my weekly homework assignment.  I went online before going to the store to figure out which books would work for the assignment.  I came up with a list of about 25 different books, all of which were listed as something that the store carried both online and in the store itself.  Keep in mind, I only needed 3 of them.  Since our local library is still quite small, and very disorganized (hopefully the new library will be better), I figured going to the bookstore was my best bet.

Upon my arrival at the store I went straight to the picture book wall and began my search.  I COULD NOT FIND EVEN ONE OF THE BOOKS ON MY LIST.  This couldn't be right. . . I went to the woman working in the children's department for help.  She went to do a computer search, and sure enough, they didn't have any of the books in stock.  She suggested to me that I visit another branch of the store.

I visited another branch and had the exact same situation occur, only this time they offered to order the books for me.

This whole scenario really bothered me.  When I have a traditionally published book (notice I said WHEN  and not IF) will it be in the stores?  What is happening to bookstores?  I looked around. . . the children's department is filled with toys!!!!

Go to a toy store if you want toys!!!  Save the bookshelves for books!!!  I can understand some little trinkets that are associated with the books themselves, but do we really need a huge display of Legos?  Don't get me wrong, I think that Legos are one of the best toys ever created, but they don't belong in the bookstore.

Aisles of board games, puzzles, and art kits?  Are they really necessary at the bookstore?  We have ONE bookstore in our city and it is a large chain store.  I am disappointed.  If they are going to be our only outlet for purchasing books, aside from the few that can be found at the grocery store, then they should sell books. Leave the other merchandise for the other merchants.  Stick to what you do best, and that is stock quality books for those who are looking for a great read.

Thank you for reading today's rant.