My faith in the reader is profound, says bookseller Paul Yamazaki. Readers explore, invest time and curiosity. In browsing they become aware of their own needs
Catching up a bit on some old posts. Very much enjoyed this. Nice to think about all the different angles from which book-lovers converge: readers, writers, editors, publishers, and (here) booksellers. Thanks.
Enjoyed this post. My career was in technology-- I helped build the infrastructure that made our current computer communications network possible. I marvel at the elaborate mechanisms of publishing and our current culture. No one has thoroughly thought through how giving everyone a broadcast platform at negligible expense for everything from books to passing thoughts has changed and will change the relationship between authors, editors, publishers, booksellers, and their communities of readers. Couple that with decoupling personal relationships from geography and we have the ingredients for something entirely new. An improvement? I doubt it, but a new culture mix is a sure thing.
Thank you for these two lovely posts, Ann! City Lights is one of a kind. "An experience of more than selling and shopping," yes! I visited it the first time in my early twenties. I knew Ferlinghetti's name because there was a poem by him in a poetry anthology I had bought in grade school from Scholastic Book Club. Fascinating to read how Paul Yamazaki thinks about book selling, his customers, and how to use the store's space in both practical and intuitive ways.
I'm long overdue for another in-person visit to City Lights. So glad they are still there, literally amidst all the change.
Catching up a bit on some old posts. Very much enjoyed this. Nice to think about all the different angles from which book-lovers converge: readers, writers, editors, publishers, and (here) booksellers. Thanks.
Enjoyed this post. My career was in technology-- I helped build the infrastructure that made our current computer communications network possible. I marvel at the elaborate mechanisms of publishing and our current culture. No one has thoroughly thought through how giving everyone a broadcast platform at negligible expense for everything from books to passing thoughts has changed and will change the relationship between authors, editors, publishers, booksellers, and their communities of readers. Couple that with decoupling personal relationships from geography and we have the ingredients for something entirely new. An improvement? I doubt it, but a new culture mix is a sure thing.
Thank you for these two lovely posts, Ann! City Lights is one of a kind. "An experience of more than selling and shopping," yes! I visited it the first time in my early twenties. I knew Ferlinghetti's name because there was a poem by him in a poetry anthology I had bought in grade school from Scholastic Book Club. Fascinating to read how Paul Yamazaki thinks about book selling, his customers, and how to use the store's space in both practical and intuitive ways.
I'm long overdue for another in-person visit to City Lights. So glad they are still there, literally amidst all the change.