The FAQ

A young man was in the shop recently and asked me, “How come your website doesn’t have an FAQ?” I explained to him that most people knew what a bookstore was for, and he shrugged at that.

I got to thinking about that, and then wondered, what would the shop’s FAQ be? What questions am I asked repeatedly? After some pondering here’s a tentative FAQ, and the answers thereof:

Q. Are your sections alphabetical by author?
A: Yes. It’s the easiest way to organize books. To date, I have only heard of one other system for organizing books, “The Mayonnaise System”, from Richard Brautigan’s book, Trout Fishing in America. The Mayonnaise System is quite simple: Books are organized in categories such as "Love," "the Future," "Adventure," and "All the Rest."

Q. Where’s the light bulb?
A: The world’s-longest-continually-burning light bulb (which used to live in this building) was moved out of this building in 1976 when the fire department moved to its new building on East Avenue. It was hooked up to a battery for the journey so it didn’t go out. It is now in the new firehouse at 4550 East Ave.

Q. Do you accept books for trade?
A: Yes. You can bring in books for trade credit on any day of the week.

Q. How does the credit system work?
A: For paperbacks you get 15% of the cover price on your credit chit, and hardbacks 1/3 of the outgoing price. This credit can then be applied to your outgoing purchase as a discount. Up to 50% of your own sale can be discounted. The remainder is paid in cash.

Q. Why can’t I pay the entire amount with my trade credit?
A: Because that’s not legal tender, and there has to be some money coming in so I can pay the bills. Electricity, fuel, supplies, postage, groceries, mortgage, insurance, Internet fees, all of these require money. I’m trying to earn a living, just like everybody else.

Q. What kind of books do you read?
A: I’m quite diverse in my reading habits. I have to be, in order to recommend titles in different genres. I enjoy history, nonfiction, science fiction, mysteries, and humor. At present I’m reading, “Party of One” by Anneli Rufus; and the autobiography of H.L. Mencken.

Q. How can I get my child to read?
A: Simply put, you must be a reader, too! Children usually learn by observation. If they see you with your eyes glued to a page, they’ll want to know what’s caught your interest, and they will do the same. Simply telling a child to pick up a book, while you turn on the football game will tell the kid that reading is a hated assignment, and he/she will shuck it the first chance they get. That’s human nature. Only by showing that reading is truly a pleasure will they do it on their own.

Q. Do you have all your books on computer?
A: I have about 1/3 – ½ of my books on computer, and I add more everyday.

Q. I have a relative in jail. Can you ship books to him?
A: Yes. If you’ll purchase the books, we’ll send them. We cannot send personal items. Just books.

Q. You don’t have the book I need. Can you order it?
A: Yes. I sell new books on-demand. I will need the title and the author, or the ISBN.

Q. Why is there tax on the book?
A. Every singe item sold over the counter by any business is taxed. The Franchise Tax Board of California determines this.

Q. How did you come up with the name, Book Oasis?
A. Actually, I didn’t. I purchased the store from a prior owner who named it thus, probably with the idea that the store would be “an oasis of low-priced books in a wasteland of overpriced ones”. Since the beginning of the Iraq War I have been the target of hate mail, and a few computer viruses, aimed at me because ignorant people assume that mine is a business run by Middle Easterners. It isn’t, not that it should make any difference.

Q. Aren’t you afraid that ipods and downloadable books will phase out paper books? A. Not really. Have you ever noticed that after an hour or so your eyes hurt from looking at a computer screen. By contrast, you can read a book all day and the only thing that pains you is your stomach for missing too many meals. What actually worries me is that people may get caught up in the idea of “progress” and try to phase-out books in favor of handheld scanners and the like, only to discover later that the new format’s not as great as they thought.

Q. Do you sell books online?
A. Yes, my website is www.bookoasis.biz .

Q. What is the meaning of life?
A. According to Webster’s, “Life: To exist; to be; the state of living.”


Recent arrivals at Book Oasis:

Austerlitz, by W.G. Sebald

Bittersweet, by Leslie Li

Hunting with Hemingway, by Hilary Hemingway.

277 Secrets Your Dog Wants You to Know.

Letters From a Nut, by Ted Nancy (very funny book! I read it!)

Being There: The Benefits of a Stay-At-Home Parent, by Isabelle Fox (Signed!)

Lee: An Abridgment in One Volume of the Four-Volume R.E. Lee by Douglas Southall Freeman.

McNally’s Dilemma, by Lawrence Sanders.

On Blue Falls Pond, by Susan Crandall.

Never Love a Cowboy, by Jill Gregory.

Wild Animus, by Rich Shapero.

Orwell: The Authorized Biography, by Michael Shelden.

The New Painting: Impressionism 1874 – 1886.

Hedgecoe On Video: A Complete Creative & Technical Guide to Making Videos.







Larry Burdick on 09.18.06 @ 01:25 PM PST [link]

Larry Burdick on 09.18.06 @ 01:24 PM PST [link]

Last Saturday I was talking to a customer who smiled at me and said, "It's really great that you're the last bookstore in town, huh?"

I shook my head and said, "No, it's not."

So many people seem to think that it's great to be a monopoly, to be the last chance for someone to get what they want. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth.

Remember that scene in "Miracle on 34th Street", where Macy's doesn't have the item in question, so they cheerfully send the customer to their competitor, Gimbel's Department Store? Likewise, I always tried to maintain a good relationship with my competitors, unless they went out of their way to be rude or discourteous to me. Regardless, I always referred customers to someone else if I couldn't help them. During the long reign of Goodenough Books, we always referred customers to each other. I still maintain the same relationship with The Bookstore & Town Center Books, both of them over in Pleasanton; and with the Livermore Library. Sure, we bookstores are out to make a living, but there's no reason why we have to be rapacious about it. Bookshops that are "out for blood" tend not to last very long.

But now, with Goodenough, Bookworm, Whitestone, and Bassett in the Literary Afterlife, Book Oasis is left to fend for itself. For the customers who enter the door, they want and expect the remaining shop to have what they need, and I do my darnedest to make sure I've got it. I sell new books on demand, have author signings, read voraciously in order to recommend new titles, and make sure the music is always varied and tasteful. But, "Lions and Tigers and Bears!", the corporate predators are fast and thick. The superstores continue to take over more market-share, the big department stores have huge book displays, online reading and shopping continues to rise, while the overall number of book readers appears to be declining.

We may in fact be entering a literary Dark Age--where small bookstores have a Hobbesian existence (nasty, brutish and short--not Calvin's boon companion!), and those who read do all their shopping largely online. As our civilization continues to constrict, with the world getting smaller by the day, more and more of us are working longer hours, and have less time to shop. Hence, the rising popularity of online shopping. With gifs and virtual displays, it's easier to simply pick out what you want and have it delivered. One wonders what kind of profit margin the delivery companies have.

Speaking of online, another customer asked me why I simply didn't move my stock into a warehouse and work as an internet supplier. The truth is, I considered that, several years ago. The primary reason why I didn't do it was because, A) I enjoy the interactions with you the cutomers; and, B) the walk-in traffic ensures a steady supply of books. Lacking the open door, I'd be doing a fair amount of scrounging. Dumpster-diving for books? That would be a new experience! Not unheard of, though; I've got a few scouts who do that regularly.

So, no, being the last bookstore in town is not a happy thing. It is a warning--to me, to you, and to everyone. As we become more wrapped up in our own lives, some parts of the world around us fade from lack of attention. In a purely Darwinian sense this is not so surprising--small bookstores are like pockets of isolated soldiers on a slippery slope during a war, working to maintan their footholds. The battlefield is littered with the bones of lost comrades; stores that have either surrendered, or gone down fighting. Just today I heard that Beauty and the Books, a prominent Seattle store, has given up the ghost. When asked where he was going, the owner replied, "I haven't the faintest idea. Into the great unknown."

MacArthur said that old soldiers never die, they just fade away. But what about booksellers? What *does* a former bookseller do? Newspaper stand? Librarian? Peddle armadillo washing-stands door to door? Ideally, they should write a book about their experiences. Helene Hanff's "84 Charing Cross Road" is a fine example. Most of us in the business have had a few hair-raising experiences, and many funny ones. I have long thought about following in this great tradition. Perhaps, when I'm old and grey, I'll set the stories down to print.

I hope to see you all in here, soon! Give me fodder for my memoirs, and treat yourselves to the literary experience. The last bookstore in Livermore can use your support, especially if we are to face the future alone.



Larry Burdick on 09.05.06 @ 01:20 PM PST [link]