Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for May 15, 2018

(I can’t believe I’m saying this.)

Good for you, Rat!

In today’s economy one has to save money where one can; especially if living on a fixed income.

Amazon? Why not B&N? (Why did the man even bother to come into an actual bookstore anyway if he’s going to get it online?)

You know, I shop on Amazon too. But I don’t see the point of going to a bookstore to find the book I’m looking for then buying it on Amazon, and pay both whatever the price is there PLUS shipping, then having to wait for it to arrive when I can get it cheaper and that day once I find it at the bookstore. Most of the books I get off Amazon I either never found at my local bookstores or can no longer find there. But most of my books are bought at a bookstore.

I’m surprised that no one else has commented on the two historic events that happened in today’s strip.

1. Rat did something constructive ( research ).2. Rat helped someone ( besides himself ).

Are we sure the bookcase didn’t fall on Rat’s head first ?

For Templo SUD and Knight1192A,

The guy went to the bookstore to get the recommendation.

Shops in Switzerland plan to introduce an advising fee.

Rat started out doing so well, too! I totally get Rat’s frustration here though!

I can go one further. I go to the bookstore to peruse the new books, but then get them from the library for free. Yes, there is a wait list, but that’s ok with me. Saves tons of money and space…what do I do with the hundreds of books after I read them? Not much room in my down-sized home.

Rat’s actually right!

Is it that Rat is working on commission at the bookstore?

Another chapter in Rat’s book about customer service. The customer is always wrong!

I have 40 shelves of books AND a Kindle. They’re both good.

I have to admit to mixed feelings about this one. I love books and have owned hundreds (thousands?) of them over the years and they’re still my preferred venue for reading.

On the other hand, I finally broke down and bought a Kindle after years of resisting e-readers and have downloaded 1,000 free titles to it from the Gutenberg Project’s website. Hard to beat a Kindle or Nook when space is limited and/or you’re on vacation.

I couldn’t find “Pearls Blows Up” anywhere so i got it as a used book on Amazon, the bonus was that it was signed by Mr. Pastis with a drawing of Rat! Now if only my name was Sue…

Today’s comic is so true. Last week I finished a compilation of mystery stories…“Bibliomysteries: Stories of Crime in the World of Books and Bookstores”. Excellent book and one of the stories mentioned this fact.

I read a story recently that in some areas, shopping plaza management companies are now offering the “sweetheart” lease deals to independent bookstores in order to attract “the right crowd” to the centers (these are the deals that used to be offered only to the big-name anchors)

Nice one, Rat. What was his point of going to the bookstore in the first place?

So what’s the solution for the small business owners? The customer went to the store because that offered best service, and then bought online because it had best price. I understand that a customer should show good manners/integrity and reward the salesperson’s effort. But if the customer needs to save money, then can’t blame them. My town’s bookstore closed two years ago because the owner was retiring and no one else wanted to run it. The closest book stores are now half hour drive. So it is much easier to buy books online, or use the library. I wonder every day what our towns and neighborhood would look like when almost all stores close down and everybody is just walking about with their eyes on their small screens. (Oh darn, it has already happened!)

What are ya gonna do?

Much the same is happening in the plant nurseries. Small independents who have to have higher retails in order to pay a living wage to employees who know about the product and gardening. They have to pay property rent or taxes also they pay more for the products because they can’t buy as much as the box stores due to a smaller footprint. What they can offer is knowledge and a wider selection. They are a business not a free information outlet, The smaller businesses need income in order to stay in business and be there with all that information.

I did a number of years as a bookseller. Now, being of the elderly persuasion (also on a fixed income, by the way), I just thought I’d share a few questions I received from customers in a large bookstore.

From a customer who had found a copy of Emily Post’s book on etiquette; “Where’s your copy machine?”

From a lady holding a swatch of drapery material; “Do you have something in a coffee table book that would match this?”

“Do you match on-line prices?” (I nearly got fired for telling one customer, “Yes. But you pay for it today, wait two days, then come back and pick it up. Or you pay the marked price now, and take it with you.”)

I sure hope no books were harmed in this punishment!

Support your local bookstores, folks. You’ll miss ‘em when they’re gone.

Rat came down on him like a ton of books.

Revenge of the Library! When Books awaken and stride the earth to take their revenge on i-stuff, there shall be a great cleansing, and, lo, the non-readers will weep, and there will be a fall of the Smartphone Zombies!

The problem with online sales is that those dollars are not spent in your community. Dollars spent nearby are then recirculated through the community.

Book ’em, Dano.

I love reading. I have bought thousands of books and my home is filled with them. However, anymore I only get e-books. Why? My eyesight! With an e-book I can change the print to where it is easy to read. I still buy coffee table books with great pictures, but if I want to read it I must struggle.

I don’t think I can ever get a job working in a bookstore. I would be too distracted with books I want to buy and end up spending my earned money on those books! There are some books that are rarely found in bookstores or not found at all, but with an Amazon account and a credit card, you can buy any book you want and have it delivered into your mailbox! Too bad I don’t have an Amazon account nor a credit card. ):

I wish I could do that! Support local businesses, people, not a corporate empire!