The neighborhood book store is as American as hot dogs and apple pie. How many of us remember the day when you could stroll through down town and pass family owned shops. Some of these were florists, butcher, and the book shop. The book store always had an odd combination smell of leather, paper, and ink. The small stores always had a way of feeling familiar and inviting. In this store was a place to find your dreams and adventures, they were just a few pages away.

In this day and age the neighborhood book store has been pushed to the back burner. It is hard to compete with the other places that sell books. There are so many places to get books. There are big book superstores that can offer discounts and other specials to draw customers in. These stores try too hard to be the warm comfortable place to read. And they are often more sterile and unfeeling than a high school library. The set too many rules and make your feel inadequate if you haven't read the latest best seller. These big stores are not as in tune with the individual as they are with the masses. The masses that are usually dots on a computer generated sales record.

There are many other places that have gotten into the book selling game. They are the big box variety stores. They all have a small book section and with their buying power can buy cheap and sell low. They don't have much for customer assistance in this area; someone to recommend the kind of book the customer is looking for. Grocery stores are this way too. They added magazines a long time ago and have a small selection of books.

Then there are the coffee houses. As part of there designed charm, they offer books and a place to read them. Many of these places encourage the patrons to use them as a reading room for their quiet atmosphere; they like to have an air of stimulated intellect flowing through them.

But in reality none of these stores can take the place of the neighborhood bookshop. These places are run by the owners who really understand their customer's needs. And they are usually willing to go the extra mile to find the unique or even collectable old book. Of course, since they know their customers.

They can easily recommend a good book that is in the customer's field of interest. It is this commitment to customer service that makes most small book stores preferable to the big ones. A place where the people know your name and the mom and pop that run it are your friends.

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Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as bargain bookstore at www.bargainbookstoreonline.com

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