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Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption
Over the past half-century, bookselling, like many retail industries, has evolved from an arena dominated by independent bookstores to one in which chain stores have significant market share. And as in other areas of retail, this transformation has often been a less-than-smooth process. This has been especially pronounced in bookselling, argues Laura J. Miller, because more than most other consumer goods, books are the focus of passionate debate. What drives that debate? And why do so many people believe that bookselling should be immune to questions of profit?
In Reluctant Capitalists, Miller looks at a century of book retailing, demonstrating that the independent/chain dynamic is not entirely new. It began one hundred years ago when department stores began selling books, continued through the 1960s with the emergence of national chain stores, and exploded with the formation of “superstores” in the 1990s. The advent of the Internet has further spurred tremendous changes in how booksellers approach their business. All of these changes have met resistance from book professionals and readers who believe that the book business should somehow be “above” market forces and instead embrace more noble priorities.
Miller uses interviews with bookstore customers and members of the book industry to explain why books evoke such distinct and heated reactions. She reveals why customers have such fierce loyalty to certain bookstores and why they identify so strongly with different types of books. In the process, she also teases out the meanings of retailing and consumption in American culture at large, underscoring her point that any type of consumer behavior is inevitably political, with consequences for communities as well as commercial institutions.
In Reluctant Capitalists, Miller looks at a century of book retailing, demonstrating that the independent/chain dynamic is not entirely new. It began one hundred years ago when department stores began selling books, continued through the 1960s with the emergence of national chain stores, and exploded with the formation of “superstores” in the 1990s. The advent of the Internet has further spurred tremendous changes in how booksellers approach their business. All of these changes have met resistance from book professionals and readers who believe that the book business should somehow be “above” market forces and instead embrace more noble priorities.
Miller uses interviews with bookstore customers and members of the book industry to explain why books evoke such distinct and heated reactions. She reveals why customers have such fierce loyalty to certain bookstores and why they identify so strongly with different types of books. In the process, she also teases out the meanings of retailing and consumption in American culture at large, underscoring her point that any type of consumer behavior is inevitably political, with consequences for communities as well as commercial institutions.
328 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 18, 2009
Warning: Long Review. While it took me a while to finish, this carefully crafted study of the bookselling business in America was great. On a reading scale, I would give it four stars, but the fifth star is because I think it is an important book to read.
Essentially this book is about the struggle between the independent vs. the chains. I work at an independent book store. Prior to working at an independent book store, I shopped at whatever place would give me the best discount, because getting the most for your money is as American as McDonalds. Who can beat the Buy 2 Get 1 Free table at Borders? How can we compete with Amazon's ridiculous discounting?
Well, we can't. And I've never cared to ask why or how me, the customer, was getting these crazy deals, and how we, as a nation, have now come to expect them. Customers unfamiliar with independent book stores come into our store and are disgusted that they have to pay the cover price for a book. What nerve! Hadn't we heard? Hadn't we gotten the memo? Our competitors down the street are selling sTori Telling (look it up) for half the price! How can we stand here and rob the American citizen blind? The answer is simple: we can't afford to sell books at a discounted rate because we aren't getting them at a discounted rate. Wait...does that mean publishers are giving special discount rates to chains? Yes. The chains obviously buy enormous amounts of books from the publishers and DEMAND that they are given discounts because of the massive quantities they are ordering. And no, the publishers can't deny them these discounts, because the chains will(and have) boycott said publisher and go to someone else, forcing publishers to play the way chains want to play.
So that explains the pricing: the chains are getting crazy discounts from the publishers so they can turn around and sell them at a heavily discounted price to you, the happy customer, who has now come to expect the discount. But if the chains are discounting, how do they make a profit? Well, because they are selling insane amounts of these select few books that are piled high on displays. And those books on display are there for a reason, and it's not because Borders really wants you to read their favorite new book. It's because some publisher has PAID for that display. Or to be put in that window. Or to be put on the end of that bookshelf. Paid thousands of dollars. And this is exclusively to the chains. The publishers hardly give independents the time of time. Not only are the publishers giving discounts, they are paying the chains to carry certain books, which in turn contributes to the standardization of reading in America.
America is reading the same books. The customer says that the number one thing they look for in a bookstore is a large inventory. But really they just want it as wall paper. In an average chain store you have around 110,000 titles (my book store has around 8,000). 20% of a chain's frontlist (meaning newer books) revenue comes from 100 titles, while about 20% of their backlist (older books) revenue comes from 500 titles. The great majority of titles carried in the superstores sell fewer than two copies a year. Understand? Everyone is reading the same books, essentially, and they're reading the same books because they're being pushed on customers by the chains, and the chains are pushing them on customers because they're being PAID to do so. This of course forces the independent stores to carry the same titles as the chains because customers come looking for the new hot book that everyone is reading. It's scary really, the standardization that is taking place. It doesn't help that there are about 10 major publishing houses that decide what gets published and pushed in our faces, as opposed to the 69,200 small presses that exist and take more risks.
I'm only presenting a handful of the problems that are outlined in this book. One of the reasons that it took me so long to finish was because it is a dense study with a lot of useful information. Just remember, when you are shopping at your Borders or Barnes & Noble, you are making a political act.
"...By spending or withholding their money in order to support institutions or values they care about, Americans do much more than make a symbolic statement, they act in ways that have immediate effects on those enterprises seeking their business...it is easy to forget the politics of the mundane, routine life. Those regular activities that occur on a day-to-day basis are no less politically consequential than those demarcated as special occasions...one makes individual choices as a consumer that collectively have a great impact."
Essentially this book is about the struggle between the independent vs. the chains. I work at an independent book store. Prior to working at an independent book store, I shopped at whatever place would give me the best discount, because getting the most for your money is as American as McDonalds. Who can beat the Buy 2 Get 1 Free table at Borders? How can we compete with Amazon's ridiculous discounting?
Well, we can't. And I've never cared to ask why or how me, the customer, was getting these crazy deals, and how we, as a nation, have now come to expect them. Customers unfamiliar with independent book stores come into our store and are disgusted that they have to pay the cover price for a book. What nerve! Hadn't we heard? Hadn't we gotten the memo? Our competitors down the street are selling sTori Telling (look it up) for half the price! How can we stand here and rob the American citizen blind? The answer is simple: we can't afford to sell books at a discounted rate because we aren't getting them at a discounted rate. Wait...does that mean publishers are giving special discount rates to chains? Yes. The chains obviously buy enormous amounts of books from the publishers and DEMAND that they are given discounts because of the massive quantities they are ordering. And no, the publishers can't deny them these discounts, because the chains will(and have) boycott said publisher and go to someone else, forcing publishers to play the way chains want to play.
So that explains the pricing: the chains are getting crazy discounts from the publishers so they can turn around and sell them at a heavily discounted price to you, the happy customer, who has now come to expect the discount. But if the chains are discounting, how do they make a profit? Well, because they are selling insane amounts of these select few books that are piled high on displays. And those books on display are there for a reason, and it's not because Borders really wants you to read their favorite new book. It's because some publisher has PAID for that display. Or to be put in that window. Or to be put on the end of that bookshelf. Paid thousands of dollars. And this is exclusively to the chains. The publishers hardly give independents the time of time. Not only are the publishers giving discounts, they are paying the chains to carry certain books, which in turn contributes to the standardization of reading in America.
America is reading the same books. The customer says that the number one thing they look for in a bookstore is a large inventory. But really they just want it as wall paper. In an average chain store you have around 110,000 titles (my book store has around 8,000). 20% of a chain's frontlist (meaning newer books) revenue comes from 100 titles, while about 20% of their backlist (older books) revenue comes from 500 titles. The great majority of titles carried in the superstores sell fewer than two copies a year. Understand? Everyone is reading the same books, essentially, and they're reading the same books because they're being pushed on customers by the chains, and the chains are pushing them on customers because they're being PAID to do so. This of course forces the independent stores to carry the same titles as the chains because customers come looking for the new hot book that everyone is reading. It's scary really, the standardization that is taking place. It doesn't help that there are about 10 major publishing houses that decide what gets published and pushed in our faces, as opposed to the 69,200 small presses that exist and take more risks.
I'm only presenting a handful of the problems that are outlined in this book. One of the reasons that it took me so long to finish was because it is a dense study with a lot of useful information. Just remember, when you are shopping at your Borders or Barnes & Noble, you are making a political act.
"...By spending or withholding their money in order to support institutions or values they care about, Americans do much more than make a symbolic statement, they act in ways that have immediate effects on those enterprises seeking their business...it is easy to forget the politics of the mundane, routine life. Those regular activities that occur on a day-to-day basis are no less politically consequential than those demarcated as special occasions...one makes individual choices as a consumer that collectively have a great impact."
September 12, 2011
This can be a bit thick with academic phrasings and meanderings, but generally speaking, it's a nice overview of the history of bookselling in America, and the complicated conflicts between "independent" bookstores and the chains. In fact, the reach of this book is a bit broader than that, examining paradoxical situation of the average contemporary consumer, who wants the local, community-oriented (book)store and the uber-convenience and low-prices of the soulless big box. As a believer that books shouldn't be sold like toothpaste, this can be a bit disheartening to read, as all the evidence for the rise of the over-rationalized book market (as represented by B&N in particular) seems fucking overwhelming. The lack of reader interest in bookseller recommendations, the influence of discounting, the ABA's inability in the 80s and 90 to create a cohesive stance for independents--it's all a bit bleak and raises questions about what the book culture will look like in a decade.
Although I totally agree with Miller that when book people go on and on about how "things used to be so much more ideal," they're basically full of shit.
Although I totally agree with Miller that when book people go on and on about how "things used to be so much more ideal," they're basically full of shit.
February 9, 2012
This book came out in 2006 so the author's predictions and theories should be taken with a grain of salt. However, she gives a very comprehensive of the history of bookselling so I recommend it on that basis alone. About thirty pages of it are actually notes and citations so it's not as long as it seems and she includes a really handy timeline of the major changes in the bookselling world.
January 2, 2023
Disclaimer: I read this book in a skipping and skimming sense while conducting research into bookshops in Muscat. This means that I kept going over certain parts over and over again.
Reluctant Capitalists is a fantastic foray into the history, emotional outlook, customer expectations, and curation and sales methods of booksellers in the US.
My favorite parts of the book were an explanation of how bookselling evolved through the 20th century into 2006, as well as a dive into what customers told the author they wanted in a bookstore clerk. Lastly, I ADORED the idea of "Bookselling as an act of finding the perfect book for a specific person" rather than "bookselling as choosing great books"
All in all, this book was a highly educational read and I recommend it to all my fellow bookshop nerds.
Reluctant Capitalists is a fantastic foray into the history, emotional outlook, customer expectations, and curation and sales methods of booksellers in the US.
My favorite parts of the book were an explanation of how bookselling evolved through the 20th century into 2006, as well as a dive into what customers told the author they wanted in a bookstore clerk. Lastly, I ADORED the idea of "Bookselling as an act of finding the perfect book for a specific person" rather than "bookselling as choosing great books"
All in all, this book was a highly educational read and I recommend it to all my fellow bookshop nerds.
March 18, 2008
Part of my growing collection of books about bookselling. Can't help it, my brain spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about independent bookstores: how to improve, why people buy what they buy, how to compete against the chains, what to read, what to stock, how to display it, the next innovation, creating a legacy, how to turn a (small) profit...
The research and sociology are first rate. Reading about the rise of the chains, B&N and Borders, might seem masochistic, but it simply reaffirms why the independents are putting up the good fight.
The research and sociology are first rate. Reading about the rise of the chains, B&N and Borders, might seem masochistic, but it simply reaffirms why the independents are putting up the good fight.
November 5, 2016
The book is starting to feel a little dated. There is some good research and strong historical narrative on the mix of capitalism and moral justification that booksellers feel makes their business more than just a business, but the book was written before the demise of Borders and the increasing importance of Amazon.
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November 15, 2016quite excited to get this book in the mail today!
November 7, 2024
The book combines a catchy title with well-written, readable content. It traces the development of bookselling in the United States of America throughout the 20th century, addressing the different modes and attitudes of independent bookshops and book chains, with some glimpses on other forms of book retail.
It's an interesting read from a European perspective, where we have one big similarity and one big dissimilarity with bookselling in the US: Here, too, booksellers consider their trade item as more than just a mere commodity and stress the role books play in culture, education, political and social discourse, etc. Unlike the USA, we have price maintenance laws or policies in the German-speaking countries and beyond; so in the Old World book business is already partially protected and excluded from the "free forces of the capitalist market" - something that independent booksellers in the U.S. have been struggling for, but had not been able to achieve - the proponents of free market forces are probably stronger there. Difficulties arise especially for independents under such conditions, and it's interesting to see how they deal with them.
It's an interesting read from a European perspective, where we have one big similarity and one big dissimilarity with bookselling in the US: Here, too, booksellers consider their trade item as more than just a mere commodity and stress the role books play in culture, education, political and social discourse, etc. Unlike the USA, we have price maintenance laws or policies in the German-speaking countries and beyond; so in the Old World book business is already partially protected and excluded from the "free forces of the capitalist market" - something that independent booksellers in the U.S. have been struggling for, but had not been able to achieve - the proponents of free market forces are probably stronger there. Difficulties arise especially for independents under such conditions, and it's interesting to see how they deal with them.
January 3, 2018
2 stars not for actual content. Though it was very dry and academic, it was really good for what it was. Just not what I thought it would be.
July 11, 2016
There is a lot of valuable information in this scholarly treatise on bookselling, capitalism, and consumerism, but it's definitely not written for laymen or booksellers, for that matter. A difficult read that I would love to see updated and made more accessible. On a side note, I don't appreciate the manner in which the author sometimes casts doubt on her sources--it seems disrespectful. That said, I'm glad the book exists!
August 28, 2007
I really enjoyed this book, it changed the way I looked at bookstores and the business of bookselling. The ways and means of capitalism can be so disturbing yet as Americans we participate in this system daily. Fascinating.
May 7, 2009
A very academic look at the changing consumer culture of bookstores and their social meaning, particular the conflict between the emergence of chain stores like Barnes and Nobles and locally owned independents.
June 21, 2007
There were moments that seemed repetitive, but overall this is a fascinating study.
July 6, 2007
Why is the act of buying books somehow immune to charges of consumerism? This book is really interesting.
November 15, 2008
fascinating...and uber depressing for anyone who gives two poops about the book industry and what the death of independent stores would mean for book culture
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October 30, 2010Interesting but already outdated. The best stuff is about inventory, which makes me wonder what Laura Miller thinks about ebooks. (Didn't she write something for salon.com?)
August 15, 2010
A bit too academic (read dry) for my tastes. A very interesting subject though... (Can't finish that thought for some reason).
December 16, 2012
Really useful look at booksellers through history and the rise of the big box stores like Borders and Amazon. Excellent research material for anyone looking into the commodity culture of books.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews