I'm conflicted, really, on this one…read more
I was super excited to see Reads & Company open, and right across the street from the Colonial Theater, where Lion and I spend a lot of time. We are both bibliophiles and cinephiles. I have spent so much time in bookstores browsing, discovering, exploring.
A day comes when I got to town before Lion. Having time to kill before the movie we were going to see, I head over to Reads to check it out. Out front is a blackboard sign that's cute, good sign. The space is deep and somewhat narrow, which is pretty normal for the age of the architecture. You work with what you have.
I first see a board of upcoming author events with books stacked below, in case someone wants to pick up the book in advance. Nice merchandising move, I think. Then I start checking out the stacks lining the walls and arranged on tables. The presentation is clean, sleek with warm tones. There are A LOT of titles here, and typically 1-2 copies of each, which is smart. Maximizing shelf space, with just-in-time supply chains you're not risking being 'out' much.
The selection skews towards topical issues in politics, biographies, business, etc, and fiction. A selection of staff recommendations with write ups. There is in the back a children's section with a nook for kids to hang out in that's shaped like a rocket ship. Some absolutely adorable onesies. A perfunctory but respectable selection of YA and SciFi and Literature. No humor or books on movies/directors, which I thought would be a nice tie with the historic theater. They do have local authors in a section and some history of the local area, which is cool.
Staff were very friendly once I initiated conversation, and I don't mind that. As a more introverted person I find that too bright a greeting, too much chat, especially in a place to bury myself in a book, is off-putting. They were great, really.
The struggle: There are no places for anyone over the age of, say, 4, to sit, unless it's the sleek wood floor. Even in the children's area there's no place for the grownups to sit. Also, those onesies are cute and a missed opportunity for toddler and youth gear, even some adult gear of the same style and feel. If your kid's out of onesies but REALLY WANTS that Pigeon Drives the Bus onesie, you've got an unhappy toddler.
This is not a place that wants you to stick around. As I struggled with how to describe it, I would say that it's most like a bookstore you'd find in an airport or a train station. A well stocked shop to spend maybe 15-20 mins in finding an acceptable title and then go on your way. This is not *bad*, it's probably a great business model for a customer looking for a book that an author just talked about on The Daily Show or just got a review in the WSJ.
The quandary for me is simply that I'm not that customer, which means I may stop back in, but I wouldn't make a special trip. I want to say "Yay I'm a fan" because for whatever reason 3 stars is perceived as 'bad' but truly, it's A-OK. Not my kind of place, but a great place for a different kind of customer than I. I wish them great success as they court that customer, truly.