Wednesday, August 12, 2009

It's Going To Be A Noir Vacation...

Because I like to practice what I preach, Depeche Mode, I decided to give Booksmith another try. About four years ago, I ordered a book and...to put it politely and succinctly, I got a flaky clerk and a negative experience. So from there on after I went to Green Apple Books, Borders or neither store had it in stock, I would order it from Amazon.

The problem with Green Apple is that traffic is making it a bigger and bigger pain to drive across the park. Borders is nice and my favorite chain, but it is still a chain, and most of the money spent there leaves San Francisco. To keep a certain device that rhymes with "spindle" from taking over the world, ya gotta from your local store.

So Booksmith is a nice, brisk walk away if I avoid Haight and Stanyan, and all the junkies sprawled thereabouts. Not only do I get exercise, I get to support my local bookstore and this way the money stays here.

I put a book on order and they got it back to me in three days. The clerk was friendly this time and not only that, look at what they had in stock when I put the order in...



...that's right, I'm going to have a noir vacation...when I get to take a vacation.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

I just got back from vacation with the family - shudder.

Hope your vacation goes swimmingly.

Be seeing you
JDC

Cormac Brown said...

Editor JDC,

I hope all that humidity and familial angst was a blast ; )

Thanks for the vacation wishes and I'll be seeing you too.

Corey Wilde said...

That's a nice haul, Mr. C. Love that cover on the Abbott book.

Cormac Brown said...

Corey,

She always has the best covers and oddly enough, I had "Red Dust" going on in the background, and this one shot of Jean Harlow and Mary Astor looked just like the "Bury Me Deep" cover.

Valerie said...

Okay, I'm ashamed to say I buy from Amazon. On second thoughts, I'll retract that ... I just remembered book stores round here never have anything I want to read.
Hope you had or have a good vacation.

Cormac Brown said...

Valerie,

Unfortunately, sooner rather than later, Amazon will become virtually the sole source for non-supermarket/airport books. I just would like to delay the inevitible with a slightly clearer conscious, though I can't fault others for not doing so. Also, living in San Francisco affords me more choices than those in other cities...and especially in rural areas.

I hope that my upcoming holiday can be half as smashing as yours was.

Valerie said...

I hope you're holiday is smashing too.
You have reminded me about an old bookshop in a neighbouring county, the air was filled with the smell of old books and I loved pottering around in there. It had disappeared on my last visit and in it's place was an express supermarket. I'd sooner have spent money in the old shop than the new.

Cormac Brown said...

Valerie,

Thanks for the holiday's wishes and that is a sad story about the shop because supermarkets can be put up on any old lot.