For S/SE siders: where would you want a bookstore? What would you want in it?

[SnappyBob]

Originally Posted by Trivet The Fool

For we're seriously considering giving this a go. What area/location would you consider ideal, adequate, readily accessible? SE/SW Military? Brooks? Along a major or minor thoroughfare?

What genres/titles/topics would you be most interested in grabbing? New, used, or a mix of both?

And please - let's leave the non-bibliophilic propensity of geography out of this?

You say "we're seriously considering it" Who's we?

Bookstores are probably on their way out anyway with so many people using Amazon and such. Don't people just download books to a Swindle or something?

[Trivet The Fool]

Originally Posted by SnappyBob

You say "we're seriously considering it" Who's we?

Bookstores are probably on their way out anyway with so many people using Amazon and such. Don't people just download books to a Swindle or something?

Some folks and I who either grew up on this side of town and moved back after a hiatus or have lived here for years and hate having to drive across town. Between us we have 28 years of book buying/retail/bookstore/retail experience. I'm not talking a full-on, major chain size store at first go. Unless you've the brand and company backing behind you in most cases, you've doomed yourself to failure. A medium/modest footprint on either a major traffic area or just off of it with enough and varied stock to pique interest.

Not everyone owns an ebook reader, or reads books on the various devices for that matter. I do also know a few people who don't personally own a computer, strange as it may seem. I have a slate I also employ as a reader, but there are some titles I'll never see in digital format short of scanning it myself. Unless the day comes that hard-copy books are truly obsolete, some pubishers & writers are hard to convince to allow for their copyright to extend to digital formats.

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by ggeorgie

I believe a book store opened up in South park Mall a few years ago and ended up closing its' doors.
Location. Location. Location....

South Park Mall is, IMO, a crappy location for a bookstore. I really try to avoid Malls at all costs and that one is just so unappealing.

Come on to Southtown, plenty of spaces for rent, lots of people wanting to buy books.

[BenjaminNicholas]

Originally Posted by Chaka

Come on to Southtown, plenty of spaces for rent, lots of people wanting to buy books.

Again, I'll say 'go where the business will be,' and that's definitely a place like Southtown. We have such an eclectic mix of folks here as well as the NEED for a small, homegrown bookstore, I'm actually surprised it hasn't been proposed before.

What a small bookstore relies on is repeat business, as they don't have the ad power or name recognition of the bigger guys out there. I can all but guarantee that you will have a loyal following here in Southtown.



BN

[SATX56]

E books and readers may eventually make bookstores obsolete. City-Base would be the right location though. Go where the customers are!

[L210]

[quote=ggeorgie;17689343]

Originally Posted by L210

I'm biased since I work near these highways; I would like a bookstore near 281/410

There is a Half price bookstore near McCullough and 410.

I believe a book store opened up in South park Mall a few years ago and ended up closing its' doors.
Location. Location. Location....

I meant on the south side. Maybe I should have said IH37 and 410?

I don't own an e-book reader and I didn't have a computer until I was 16. I worked a summer job and was finally able to afford one. Used books are much cheaper than their electronic counterparts.

[Merovee]

If wanting to run a rather small bookstore then Southtown would be ideal. For anything larger then the area around Brooks City-Base would likely fare better.