Barnes and Noble

This store’s within weeks of shutting it’s doors — and while to me it’s sad to see any bookstore close, it’s just odd to see a Barnes and Noble fall because it remains visibly popular. .. and because Barnes and Noble’s presence is often the cause of other bookstores losing. In this case, leasing issues doomed the location. On a recent visit, half the store still looked like Barnes and Noble, with racks full of new books (fewer than usual, but still a respectable collection) and the usual plentiful patrons buying and reading to their heart’s content. However, the other half looked like a fire sale, with stripped, empty shelves pushed together and marked for new owners (including a few schools, which was nice); large, bare areas of floor from which the shelves had been removed; and customers picking through the numerous shelves carrying 40%-off books and gifts. I’m not sure what will happen to the staff, but they remained upbeat, welcoming, and helpful, and were still showing pride in their store, which remained clean and, on the remaining shelves, well-​stocked.

I normally like my visits to B&N. However, I went there today to check out the Cisco certification books. There are a LOT on the market and I want to make sure I get the best ones for my needs.
Well — they didn’t even have all 3 books for the CCNP cert, let alone a choice for each test (there are a couple different books for each test). Basically, not enough choices or inventory. So…
I pulled out my iPad to check B&N online for their choices. Their Internet connection came and left several times. When it was available, it crawled! Basically — click and wait. This made it very frustrating while trying to look at the myriad of books out there on the topic.
I was there about 45 minutes. Throughout that time, there were small children wandering around calling to their parents and shouting. This is not so much a slam on the store as it is on parents who let their children run wild in stores. I know that regardless of what some folks think, B&N isn’t a library, but please — keep your kids quiet so people can concentrate and hopefully make a decision on what they want to buy.
The 2 sets of front doors need to be fixed. Each time a door closed, it slammed several times. Each person entering or leaving the store meant 2 sets of «bang, tap, tap, tap.» I mentioned the noise to the store manager. She said that they have had repairmen in 3 times, but the doors haven’t been fixed. It’d take nothing more than some weatherstripping to stop the doors from making that noise.
All in all — a pretty negative and frustrating experience. With all the electronic readers out there, B&N needs to ensure that the dwindling number of customers visiting their stores have a better experience.
I’m going to buy my certification books from Amazon today.

My nightstand looks like a game of nerd Jenga. A leaning tower of books piled haphazardly several feet in the air. When I finish one I carefully pull the next one I want to read from the middle of the stack while trying not to knock over the pile. Tech books, Sci-​fi, fantasy, literature, philosophy, psychology and even a book on yoga. Some I bought, some were gifts or loaned to me… come to think of it there might be a library book that is months past due!
My problem is that I acquire them faster than I can read them. I should buy a book on speed reading so I can finish them in a timely manner.
Barnes & Noble has books! therefore, I love it. The smells from the attached Starbucks mix with the smells of the freshly printed books. I’d pick the books up and sniff them if I wasn’t concerned that the cute girl that works there might find me creepy.
I don’t go there to stalk her and I wouldn’t ask her out but for for the 30 minutes I spend in the store she is the only woman for me. As I fondle each book I wonder if she’s read it. I imagine a cold, rainy sunday morning spent on the couch together just reading. In my mental image, she’s reading Neitzche and I’m reading Dr Seuss… I can imagine whatever I want… Shut up! We’d be wearing sweats and sipping coffee. Occasionally I’d rub against her leg and she would look up from her book and smile at me. At some point she would huff, throw down the book and say something like, «Neitche is an idiot!». I’d laugh at her till she cracked a smile, then we’d make out to the sound of the rain pounding on the street outside.
I’ll admit my experience here has absolutely nothing to do with the store itself, but that’s the beauty of books right?

Definitely more like a library. This store isn’t configured for casual, comfortable browsing like B&Ns in California (few chairs, no couches or leather chairs). They should fully integrate the Starbucks next door and make more space for lazy reading /​kibitzing.

As with every other corporate chain bookstore, B&N is on a downward spiral. More inspirational fiction. More paper goods. More crap. More games. Fewer actual books of any value. Anything I need, I have to order from Amazon (all hail Amazon Prime!) or Powells.
Here’s the problem: browsing is an instrinsic part of the book buying experience for the bibliophile and the big book chains are really failing us all.

This one was better laid out than the B&N I perused by the Trader Joe’s in Towson. Jigsaw puzzles as you come in, for that kid/​grandparent you have no clue what to get for Christmas. The wall of coffee odor from the adjacent Starbucks. Wrapping paper, gift bags, blank journals, gift-​wrapping service by the checkout line. Audiobooks well organized. Seconding the great information desk customer service.

All I really want from a Barnes & Noble is a place where I can get some coffee and read their magazines for hours on end without purchasing any of them. Is that so much to ask? At this Barnes & Noble, you can’t take the books and magazines into the connected Starbucks without purchasing them. Boooo!

Great place with comfortable chairs. Wish they had more chairs, more local authors. I like their local staff choices and spotlights.

A quality Unilocal review proffers authentic personal impressions, so as much as I dislike documenting the major unpleasantry here… seat hogs, I will proceed. What follows is the good, the bad and the ugly about this bookstore:
UGLY
This location operates like a library… people come in with their Starbuck’s treat and plant themselves in sagging reading chairs for endless periods. Some set up a full array of reading/​studying material at the window tables and stay for hours chatting on their cell phones. Some bring in meals or work on school assignments. They frequently leave the store’s now used magazines and books in a pile when they complete whatever they were working on.
GOOD
The information desk staff are more than helpful. The children’s book department is really set up for kids and has a lot to choose from. They carry audio books, CDs, DVDs, small gift items and some foreign language books. The shelving is well-​maintained and the magazines, though not extensive are current.
BAD
Forget cell phone courtesy or speaking softly – you’ll soon become a third party to other people’s phone conversations here. The store staff themselves can be disruptive, frequently shouting to each other across aisles. Over-​tired or cranky children often cry or get upset, but I’ve never seen a manager offer to come to the mother’s rescue. Overall, there is a lack of management here, few smiles, just continual encouragement to purchase their discount card at the check out. Yea, right!
This store is located in a community of readers who are interested in politics, business and foreign affairs, as well as fiction. Why is it oblivious to many small improvements that could make it more appealing?

One of the things I miss from London is a quality book store. Barnes and Noble in Reston comes close.
It nearly contains books in most of the categories I need. Be it languages, computers, digital photography and heck even books on raising pets.
I’ve also found the staff to be very discrete, by not following you around asking if you’ve found what you need every few minutes, but helpful all the same having a dedicated information stand in the center of the building away from the cashiers. So if you’ve got a question, you can go ask people and not have to wait for other customers to complete their transactions.
Their range of books as I said are good, and as they’re next to a starbucks it’s a delight to just grab a coffee and review books in peace and quiet !