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I was just in a large Barnes & Noble, which has incorporated the equivalent of a toy store taking up half the floor of one of their floors, with children's books on the other half. I always thought cafes in bookstores was a bad idea, leading to grubbing up the books. But this seems even odder. I understand the desperation of book stores these days, but this somehow conveys the attitude that books aren't quite enough, aren't interesting enough, aren't fun enough.
Walking into a bookstore exposes children to reading. Walking into a bookstore with a large toy department distracts them from reading.
So then don't take your children there if you can't steer them toward the books.
And honestly? I don't see the point about kvetching about cafes in bookstores, either. You might as well take issue with bookstores having bathrooms, too.
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If you're that hung up on "books only," go to a library. Bookstores are in business to make a profit, and they will do what they can to keep their doors open. You're free to take your business elsewhere if it bothers you that much.
So then don't take your children there if you can't steer them toward the books.
And honestly? I don't see the point about kvetching about cafes in bookstores, either. You might as well take issue with bookstores having bathrooms, too.
If you're that hung up on "books only," go to a library. Bookstores are in business to make a profit, and they will do what they can to keep their doors open. You're free to take your business elsewhere if it bothers you that much.
Speaking as someone who had to clean up the horrendous messes left by 'customers' who treated our store as a 'community center' and 'play area' for their families, and only spent money on the drinks they consumed, I think you're quite right and they should go to libraries. Let's see how far that sort of behavior gets them there.
Book stores have to spread out into new products. With e/readers consuming so much of the $$ that used to go toward real book purchases in the past, they have no choice. Toys seem to be a good fit imo.
...And honestly? I don't see the point about kvetching about cafes in bookstores, either.
I patronized a chain with this in-store cafes for awhile. I got annoyed having to ask the people stocking the shelves if they had a clean copy of a book I wanted to buy...one whose spine was not broken, whose pages were not soiled and the corners turned back. Obviously, the problem is not the cafe itself, it is the attitude of some people toward taking care of books that they aren't buying....
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Bookstores are in business to make a profit, and they will do what they can to keep their doors open. You're free to take your business elsewhere if it bothers you that much.
Just exactly what I did, and this particular store and the entire chain, I believe, went out of business.
Like you, I am a strong believer in voting with my feet.
The sad fact is that books alone are not enough to get a large segment of the population into the store and it's only going to get tougher. Even people who really do love to read have less reason to visit a brick & mortar store these days with the ease of ordering from Amazon & the growing popularity of e-readers.
From what I have seen, the toys B&N does sell mostly lean toward "educational" (legos, puzzles, science kits & such) - nobody would mistake them for Toys R Us. There's plenty I dislike about B&N, but after what happened to Borders I can't blame them for doing whatever they can to stay afloat in the current retail climate.
Book stores and libraries both are having to adapt or die.
Chidlren get far greater exposure to reading in a bookstore with a toy department than they do in a bookstore that is closed.
Bookstores will all be gone in ten years. Except maybe a few quirky rare or used bok places that have things you cannot get on the web.
Libraries are stuggling to stay relevant. They offer free computer/internet use. That is about 1/3 of their patrons. Another 1/3 are people over 70. Many of whom will be gone or at least not reading anymore int he next ten or so years.
Libraries often have play areas, puppet shows, movie night. Most have videos, video games, books on tape. At least some of them are looking into providing a form of reader simlar to a kindle, where you just load the books you want ont the device that you check out from the LIbrary rather than a book.
To me it is sad (but not sad for trees). THe days of books are numbered. They will be gone in 20 years, They will not be much in use in ten years. Look what ahppened to encyclopedias, newspapers, handwritten letters. . . We are a soon to be paperless society. We actually do nto need paper for very much right now. It is just a question of people's habits catching up with technology. All forms of communication on paper are being outdated mail, written homework assignments (replaced with powerpoint and E-mail), newspapers, books, reciepts, checks, magazines, flyers, . . . Even in construction wood is beeing repalced with plastics and steel.
It is getting hard for us to find anything to use to start a fire in the fireplace or to put on the bottom of the bird cages. We are going to have to start buying things for both purposes.
We do still need paper for Pizza boxes and fast food containers.
I once said to my kids "You sound like a broken record" and got "What is a record daddy?
My kids wills say to their kids "That is one for the books" and get "What is a book daddy?"
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I think you're quite right and they should go to libraries. Let's see how far that sort of behavior gets them there.
