Yesterday, I had a very nice conversation with the very nice manager of online marketing at abebooks.com. The phone call came about because he sent me an e-mail about doing some promoting here on BookBlog, and I didn’t delete it like I normally do when I get requests for advertising. See, the difference was that he said nice things about BookBlog rather than the usual pitch to sell or review crappy books for a crappy publisher. (In a former life, I worked for a crappy publisher for eight years. I know crappy books.) I think the phrase that made me keep reading his e-mail was “personal fan of your blog.” You have to pet the pony before you ride it.
Intrigued, I took a look at abebooks.com and instantly liked it. It’s sort of like the Amazon used book marketplace except that the sellers are real used bookstores and not joe schmoes trying to clear out some shelf space in order to make room for the next Harry Potter book. And I love used books. I really do. When I go on a pilgrimage, my Mecca is Strand Book Store, the most fabulous shop ever for real book lovers. Now that most of the independent bookstores have been squashed by latte-pushing super retailers, the used bookstore is the only place to go for that great musty book smell. Online shopping for used books isn’t quite the same as doing it in person since you can’t run your hands over all of the old bindings, but it isn’t half bad because you can easily find exactly what you want.
For example, let’s say you’re interested in buying this month’s selection, The Ghost Writer by John Harwood. By doing a quick search on abebooks.com, you can find:
Wasn’t that easy? A trip to the used bookstore usually involves climbing over mountains of old books, scaling 20-foot shelving units being held together by one rusty screw, and dealing with employees who can’t find anything since they’re all classics graduate students only working there for the discount. I enjoy an adventure when I’m browsing, but I’d rather get what I want and get out when I’m looking for something specific.
And I put my money where my mouth is. My copy of Noir from the BookBlog library (currently housed in a pile next to my bedroom door) has gone missing. It’s out of print, and I have already placed an order for a gently-loved replacement from abebooks.com.
So, don’t be surprised if you find a bunch of abebooks.com stuff popping up around here. I wouldn’t suggest the site if I didn’t think it was good for books.
