Comments on: On the Organization of Bookstores http://www.angiebenedetti.com/blog/2009/03/11/on-the-organization-of-bookstores/ Writing and Reading, Romance and Erotica Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:39:33 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Angie http://www.angiebenedetti.com/blog/2009/03/11/on-the-organization-of-bookstores/comment-page-1/#comment-622 Angie Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:39:38 +0000 http://www.angiebenedetti.com/blog/?p=72#comment-622 Carleen -- that's awesome, thanks! E-mail with address sent. :D Angie Carleen — that’s awesome, thanks! E-mail with address sent. :D

Angie

]]> By: Carleen http://www.angiebenedetti.com/blog/2009/03/11/on-the-organization-of-bookstores/comment-page-1/#comment-621 Carleen Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:35:45 +0000 http://www.angiebenedetti.com/blog/?p=72#comment-621 Hi Angie...you won the giveaway with the poll on my site! Email your snail mail and I'll send it out to you! Hi Angie…you won the giveaway with the poll on my site! Email your snail mail and I’ll send it out to you!

]]> By: Angie http://www.angiebenedetti.com/blog/2009/03/11/on-the-organization-of-bookstores/comment-page-1/#comment-584 Angie Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:33:58 +0000 http://www.angiebenedetti.com/blog/?p=72#comment-584 Claudia -- I'm generally against it too, mainly because the whole ghettoization thing is like fingernails on a blackboard. :/ And my experience with the "Gay/Lesbian Studies" shelf as a reader (and potentially as a writer, if I ever get anything released in hardcopy) is frustrating and annoying; it doesn't feel at all like a haven or a showcase, but rather a catch-all shelf where all that problematic Gay Stuff has been stuffed. This doesn't make my thoughts about similar areas tend at all toward the positive. At the same time, though, there are plenty of Black writers and readers both who like the idea, and I'm not going to try to tell them they shouldn't. I really do think that having online bookstores get their act together on the keyword searches is the best option here, so no matter which option someone prefers, they can hunt for books the way they like. I do most of my book buying online these days too, for a variety of reasons, but at this point I rely on recs (and blogs like White Readers Meet Black Authors) whenever I'm looking for books in a new genre or by a group of writers I'm not familiar with. Have you tried finding "SF books by Black authors" on Amazon or B&N online lately? [sigh] The tools are there, though, as I said in the post; it's just a matter of getting the people who manage the stores' databases to set them up for these kinds of searches. Thanks for commenting. :) Angie Claudia — I’m generally against it too, mainly because the whole ghettoization thing is like fingernails on a blackboard. :/ And my experience with the “Gay/Lesbian Studies” shelf as a reader (and potentially as a writer, if I ever get anything released in hardcopy) is frustrating and annoying; it doesn’t feel at all like a haven or a showcase, but rather a catch-all shelf where all that problematic Gay Stuff has been stuffed. This doesn’t make my thoughts about similar areas tend at all toward the positive.

At the same time, though, there are plenty of Black writers and readers both who like the idea, and I’m not going to try to tell them they shouldn’t. I really do think that having online bookstores get their act together on the keyword searches is the best option here, so no matter which option someone prefers, they can hunt for books the way they like.

I do most of my book buying online these days too, for a variety of reasons, but at this point I rely on recs (and blogs like White Readers Meet Black Authors) whenever I’m looking for books in a new genre or by a group of writers I’m not familiar with. Have you tried finding “SF books by Black authors” on Amazon or B&N online lately? [sigh] The tools are there, though, as I said in the post; it’s just a matter of getting the people who manage the stores’ databases to set them up for these kinds of searches.

Thanks for commenting. :)

Angie

]]> By: Claudia http://www.angiebenedetti.com/blog/2009/03/11/on-the-organization-of-bookstores/comment-page-1/#comment-583 Claudia Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:44:08 +0000 http://www.angiebenedetti.com/blog/?p=72#comment-583 Hi Angie, I really enjoyed reading your post. I consider myself to be in the camp against the A.A. fiction shelf, but I've heard so many pros and cons over the last few days that I have to agree with you: "This is complicated!" And you are right to point out that online sources are best as cross-listing with ease. Too often, this is how I do my book browsing these days. Hi Angie, I really enjoyed reading your post. I consider myself to be in the camp against the A.A. fiction shelf, but I’ve heard so many pros and cons over the last few days that I have to agree with you: “This is complicated!” And you are right to point out that online sources are best as cross-listing with ease. Too often, this is how I do my book browsing these days.

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