140 replies to this topic

[Stroggy]

A. J. Raffles, on Mar 18 2006, 10:02 PM, said:

Well, to be fair, it's highly unlikely that someone who wants to buy those titles will walk into any given bookshop more than once or twice a year. You can't really blame them for not stocking them permanently. They do need to make money, after all...
How long would it take to order a book in a Belgian bookshop, by the way? Apparently that's different from country to country.

I don't see why not, the french section gets a whole department dedicated to their classics (Rimbaud, Voltaire, Moliere,...) and they get neat leather-bound volumes as well. So I don't see why other classics such as Kafka, Tolstoj and Wilde should not be supplied.

[A. J. Raffles]

Well, unlike libraries, bookshops aren't primarily there to supply books, they're there to sell books. As the owner of a bookshop, you have to be discriminating; you can't just stock everything, on the off chance that once or twice a year somebody may come looking for it, because a book that stays on the shelf for ten months will cost you money.
I suppose the reason why those bookshops you mentioned have a section of French classics is that those are more likely to be in demand, because at least some parts of Belgium are francophone, so if you argue from a linguistic point of view, those are their own classics, while Wilde and Tolstoy aren't. But I still don't see why you can't just order the books you'd like. Surely it can't take all that long?

[Stroggy]

The south of Belgium is french, I live in the north (Antwerp is near the border with the Netherlands) so I do not think the demand for Moliere's plays outdoes the demand for Wilde's stories.

Ordering a book takes about a month to two months if you're lucky. I've had to order schoolbooks quite often, and usually (even when ordering them well in advance) they arrive a month or so after the beginning of the new school year.

As for the libraries, they are focused more on contemporary dutch literature. There is the main library, but that one is closed for renovation.

[A. J. Raffles]

Two whole months? Bloody hell. It really is different in different countries, then. I can order books at a bookshop within anything between a day and two weeks.

I suppose this would justify using the services of the evil that is Amazon. Have you considered that yet?

[Moogle]

...
This Oscar Wilde guy is awesome....
Thank you for talking abput him...or else I never woud have read his works...and they rock...

[Stroggy]

A. J. Raffles, on Mar 19 2006, 05:26 PM, said:

I suppose this would justify using the services of the evil that is Amazon. Have you considered that yet?

Amazon... well let me give you an example of what happened the last time I used their services...

September 27 2005: I order "The Times Good University Guide 2006" through Amazon.com

Subtotal of Items:   $19.80
Shipping & Handling:   $35.98
  
= Total for this Order:   $55.78

Shipping estimate for these items:  October 5, 2005 - October 6, 2005
Delivery estimate:  October 10, 2005 - October 11, 2005

---------------------

October 8, 2005:

Amazon e-mail:
"We wanted to let you know that there is a delay with item(s)
in the order you placed on September 27, 2005"

the new delivery date was October 21, 2005

---------------------

November 3, 2005:

I receive a parcel from amazon.com.
The cover of the book was broken.

[BeefontheBone]

Wouldn't ordering from Amazon UK be easier?

[DeathDude]

Indeed our least an amazon closer to your region, that's what I did when friend ordered Dream Theater's Six Degrees of Inner Turbulance from Amazon Canada.

[Sean]

Forget Da Vinci Code and Harry Potter.. Dark Tower here I come!

I picked up the first four volumes in a nifty little boxset from Amazon. This second book is a lot better than I expected, I'm hooked!

Anybody else for legless black skitzos?

[DakaSha]

i dont get the harry potter hype... whats so great about such a totaly unoriginal book?

anyways im reading Good Omens now.

[PrejudiceSucks]

DakaSha, on Mar 29 2006, 10:16 PM, said:

i dont get the harry potter hype... whats so great about such a totaly unoriginal book?

anyways im reading Good Omens now.

Two words - aggressive marketing.

[Moogle]

Harry Potter sucks.

[A. J. Raffles]

Oh, they're not THAT bad. But I don't really understand all the fuss that's being made about them either. I mean, they're children's books which are nice and easy to read, but that's about it, right?

[BeefontheBone]

Now Lemony Snicket, THERE's an original series of children's books. Unfortunate Events rock!

[DakaSha]

id say harry potter is ok for kids... ok. but i know 60 year old men reading them...