I’m really interested in the world of publishing, and self-publishing, and how Amazon is changing the face of reading in today’s world. After so many years of bookstores complaining about how Amazon is pushing them out of business, and should be stopped by the government for being a monopoly, something weird and wonderful has happened: Amazon has opened its own physical bookstore.
It’s not like a regular bookstore – books are carefully curated based on ratings and reviews on the website, and then the chosen titles are placed face-out, with a card including user comments and ratings on it, for easy and thorough browsing. Of course, anything you don’t see can be ordered online at one of many handy kiosks.
I’d shop there. Of course, I buy a lot of books. A LOT. But still – it’s pretty. If you live in Seattle, you can check it out.
TurtleHead 
Oh, and the snark from parts of the traditional publishing / bricks-and-mortar bookstore world has been heavy. I’ve heard the name criticized (Amazon Books – well, duh, what should Amazon call their bookstore?). I’ve read unflattering descriptions of the people shopping there (just mean and irrelevant). I’ve heard accusations that they “just don’t know what they’re doing” by shelving books face out (instead of the customary spine out you see in most bookstores. Of course, it’s not possible that maybe the world’s biggest bookstore has something there and spine-out shelving isn’t all it’s cracked up to be …
All I know is I can’t remember the last time I set foot in a traditional bookstore (actually, I do, and it was just as underwhelming an experience as I feared it would be), but I would shop in this one in a heartbeat.
I’d shop there. Of course, I will shop anywhere that has books. Spine-out, cover-out, back-cover-out, old, new. It’s a cool idea.
If I see books, I step in. As simple as that!
Do you have a book you would like to publish? Cf. your interest in self-publishing 🙂
Naw, I just have built websites for a few self-published authors so I got on the bandwagon. It’s fascinating reading if you get into it – the way traditional publishing contracts basically steal all rights from authors is almost criminal, and yet self-publishing is still frowned upon as the poor-man’s method. Amazon is doing all it can to change that, and make it easier for authors to make a living wage from the work they do, despite incredible push back from the traditional publishers – I applaud them!