After getting rid of hundreds of books before we moved to Mexico, and buying two of these,
I have no business ever entering a bookstore again.
But. . . . I can't order books in Mexico on Kindle #1. El sr J sometimes hogs get engrossed in a book on Kindle #2. And, when I pass by a bookstore, I get an uncontrollable urge to enter and browse. Old habits die hard.
There are two decent bookstores within walking distance.
While looking for particular authors I like at Porrúa, I noticed that the alphabetical order they were arranged in ended after the first letter of the last name. Which means that the same author's books might be found at some distance from each other. After stealthily rearranging some authors and thinking about volunteering to put things in better order, I ended up just putting a few of my favorites in their proper order for when I come back later.
In the bookstore below, books are organized by publishers. Who ever heard of that! Do I ever know which publisher handles my favorite authors? Can I even browse with pleasure or effectively? No!!!!!!!! I guess inventory control is easier for them, though, since they order from publishers.
This brings us to the question of marketing, which I've always scorned as a course of study in university. Marketing requires some common sense plus, maybe, a 3-day seminar. We've heard many horror stories from expats here about bad marketing. When you've bought the last item in a store and you come back a month later, why haven't they restocked that item? Why is there no organization in the announcements of cultural activities? Why are websites so bad? I can only think of two possibilities. 1) Mexicans are woefully lacking in marketing skills and need to be educated to bring them up-to-date on how it's done in the US of A; and 2) they like the way they do things and choose not to do marketing (in its gringo sense). The second is by far the more interesting possibility and may bring us me to a more profound interpretation of Mexican culture (some time in the future).
Anyway, I found this new Vargas Llosa novel (not available on Kindle) on the Alfaguara table at the organized-by-publisher bookstore. It's a historical novel about the Irishman, Roger Casement. As always, Vargas Llosa is brilliant in exploring the nuances in history and in his protagonist. I think I'm going to remember Alfaguara from now on.
Is that a guard outside the second bookstore and is he armed? Are there a lot of armed guards there? I remember in Costa Rica many banks had them outside their doors when we were there in 2005. I don't know if that's business as usual ~ there had been a rash of bank robberies before we went.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I've been wondering ~ what is the protocol for people allowed to read blogs, specifially your blog? Can anyone join (the more the merrier)? Or do you want some say in it? I've relayed a few things to a friend that you've blogged about and she's interested in reading along too. Not to put you on the spot (I didn't tell her that I'd ask)...
Hi Sue. That is a guard, but I don't think he's armed. I remember those teenaged bank guards with sub-machine guns in Costa Rica. No armed guards in the banks here. You've inspired me for a post (sometime in the future) about shopping and guards. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnyone is welcome to read and to comment. I think one has to have a g-mail account (free) to comment. I get e-mails from friends/family who don't want to have g-mail, but have comments to make.