Shy books

One of the problems that comes with having coffee shops in bookstores is that they can turn bookstores into gathering places or social places, which doesn't sound like such a bad thing but can be. (Another problems is that those sitting in the coffee shops are often free to browse through books or magazines as they eat and drink, then put them back on the shelves when they are through with them.)

Just as silence has always been favored in libraries, so it is important in a good bookstore. Browsing for the right book takes concentration, privacy and some measure of silence. You don't want children running around, friends trying to chat or strangers trying to make friends.

Christopher Morley

Quoting Christopher Morley, bookseller Jeff Deutsch says this in his book In Praise of Good Bookstores, "This is how the browser recognizes their book: privately, usually in silence, 'for often the most important books are shy, and do not press forward to the front counters,' as Morley observes. We must maintain quiet and allow for concentrated browsing, understanding that our role is drawing readers across the threshold, that they might confront these volumes."

I like the idea of shy books. So often the right book for you never finds its way to the front of the store, on a table with best-sellers. It may be hiding away on a corner shelf, or on a bottom shelf or top shelf, and thus more difficult to find.

The right book may take some time to locate, and the search may require quiet solitude.

Novelist Ann Patchett says she made a deliberate decision not to sell coffee or food of any kind in her Nashville bookstore. She wanted to sell books, just books, for people who like books. But then she and her co-owner decided to allow dogs in their store, and so customers who aren't talking to each other are probably talking to dogs.