Thai bookshops. Reading library service or business?

[JJGreen]

This is a typical scene in any B2S 

 

Rows of avid readers...but few people buying.

 

How do they make money?

 

  

[rak sa_ngop]

They also seem to resent having to move to the side when you actually do want to select a purchase! (and that includes staff standing around chatting).

[1FinickyOne]

Hey, nice of you to be so concerned... looks like they need to put in more comfy chairs - - then they can go out of business as fast as brick and mortar bookstores in USA... most of whom decided to sell coffee... 

[JJGreen]

1 hour ago, kenk24 said:

Hey, nice of you to be so concerned... looks like they need to put in more comfy chairs - - then they can go out of business as fast as brick and mortar bookstores in USA... most of whom decided to sell coffee... 

This b2s sells coffee too

[NoshowJones]

3 hours ago, kenk24 said:

Hey, nice of you to be so concerned... looks like they need to put in more comfy chairs - - then they can go out of business as fast as brick and mortar bookstores in USA... most of whom decided to sell coffee... 

The Dasa book shop in Bangkok does that.

[lungbing]

What annoys me is when they sit reading cross-legged in the aisles so you can't get through.

[Speedo1968]

Ye Olde Worlde Foyle's in London didn't even have aisles but you could still find a wall to lean against or a corner to squat in.

Some libraries in the UK have started to tolerate sitting on the floor, encouraging even in some libraries ( Brighton for instance ).

Waterstones in Brighton allowed me to sit on the floor when no one was kind enough to give up their seat to an old man.

 

What I would question is why my local library in Banphai is normally empty of anyone, apart from those who want a cooler place ( temp wise ) to sit and text.

[JJGreen]

25 minutes ago, Speedo1968 said:

Ye Olde Worlde Foyle's in London didn't even have aisles but you could still find a wall to lean against or a corner to squat in.

Some libraries in the UK have started to tolerate sitting on the floor, encouraging even in some libraries ( Brighton for instance ).

Waterstones in Brighton allowed me to sit on the floor when no one was kind enough to give up their seat to an old man.

 

What I would question is why my local library in Banphai is normally empty of anyone, apart from those who want a cooler place ( temp wise ) to sit and text.

Are the books current reading?

[Speedo1968]

2 hours ago, JJGreen said:

Are the books current reading?

Sorry don't understand your reply !

[JJGreen]

11 minutes ago, Speedo1968 said:

Sorry don't understand your reply !

In the library which is empty. Maybe because there is not recent releases or magazines?

[malt25]

On 8/11/2016 at 9:33 PM, lungbing said:

What annoys me is when they sit reading cross-legged in the aisles so you can't get through.

Just wondering... how does one read cross-legged ?

Maybe they are sitting cross-legged while reading with their eyes ?

 

Written tongue in cheek  :-)

[Speedo1968]

16 hours ago, JJGreen said:

In the library which is empty. Maybe because there is not recent releases or magazines?

Does a child of 3 know what book is a recent release ?  English or Thai.

 

There are some excellent books related to school subjects and yes there are a few "readable" books.   You can order from other libraries.

I wonder if a mobile library would work here or would the books just get "lost !?"

 

I have yet to see young adult readers in the library except for those using their phones.

 

I suppose we have to be thankful that the children who sit on the floor in book shops reading books ( real books not manga ) are at least reading a real book.    E-books are not the same as paper books.

 

The local office for a local farming college ( directly next to the library ) often saw me looking at the pictures on the display board of their students in various college related activities - not once did anyone get off their backside to ask if they could help.   ( Yes, I have lived long enough in Thailand to see this as partly a cultural issue ).

 

On a similar note, on a number of occasions since my retirement I have offered to donate all of the text books that I have to KKU, many having individual values of 4K or so, some of them classic reading for nutritionists or vets and now out of print, all of them relevant in today's farming world, even after emailing a list of them and once going to KKU myself, they showed no interest.   Yet, so often I was asked when visiting farms, "Can I buy that book from you ?".

 

Books used to be given as prizes those many many years ago, Beatrix Potter especially popular.

 

Just griping I guess, but I no longer complain that all I ever got for Christmas as a very young child was a book.