Don’t forget about the stand with a sign that says “Booktok made me read it” and it’s the same 3 books repeated ad infinitum and despite all being first editions they all have sprayed edges.

I hate what book tok has done to the book world.

Life is too short to read shitty self help books that’s written by influencers(yuck) or some LLM shit books. Read the classics.

I always have a book or author in mind when I go to a book store. I have walked past the displays anon mentions, but they are ‘whats new’ advertising so they are flashy and change often.
My complaint is that the types of books I like are given less and less shelf space every year. Romance and children’s books have mostly replaced science fiction and fantasy. I guess the stores know what sells and stock it.

“Warhammer 40k novels, the most superb prose. Only the finest for the Gentlemen. Ah yes, ‘adult manga’ of course. 1984? Perfection. Of course, I haven’t read it. I just need a copy to throw at minorities. It is truly an excellent work.”

PeoPLe SHouLd ReAd MoRe BoOkS

Support your local independent bookstores (if you still have any)!

I don’t know how common bookstores that are not part of large chains still are in other countries, here in Germany we have this thing called Buchpreisbindung (roughly translates to “fixed book prices”) which means bookstores actually have to compete only through presentation and their professional advice. Independent bookstores often have very knowledgeable personal that can give you great advice for free (in case of Germany) or with little extra cost compared to just ordering on Amazon/one of the corporate chains, e.g. at the bookstore around the corner the owner has been selling books for 50 years and has read basically everything ever published at this point.

She has just recommended me Gentleman overboard which is a short, although nonetheless incredibly moving book about a gentleman… well, going over board.

As for the titles/front page design/self-help books: I feel with OOP, but this seems to be what people care about/still feel they have the time to read. One actually very good (although slightly older) book from this rather modern category is The subtle art to not give a fuck.

Tldr go out, search for and support independent bookstores!

Is this about the US? Is the US alright?

I was in a bookstore yesterday. I did have a chuckle at this self-help book called something along the lines of “How to Politely Tell People to Fuck Off”, which proudly stated to be written by a social therapist or some other Pokemon evolution of a psychologist.

Otherwise it was novels from mainstay authors, young adult stuff whose quality was undecypherable from their “my cousin knows Photoshop” covers and a bunch of pseudo-academic highly specific texts from local self-published authors.

I was disheartened to see that the native minority language section keeps shrinking, especially among children’s stuff. And while I was looking at that I also noticed the manga section is bigger than the graphic novel section and that is bigger than US comics, which were now nonexistent. More neutral about that one.

does not sound like parallel, sounds like modern internet/reality has infected bookstores. It just needs books created by AI on influencers and it’ll be complete

The part a out randomly generated awards are so on point. Altough it could work with author names as well well. P. E. Nmyass

I just learned the book I’m reading has a glow in the dark cover

I’m too early on in the book to know what that means

Don’t forget the smut. So much smut.

Lmao, Sarah J Maas catching strays.

This greentext is literally just right-wingers convincing each other their already-held stereotypes are true.

Ok but I would read ‘All The Fire That We Hold Tomorrow.’

Cue “am I out of touch” meme.

OP, it’s OK to no longer be up-to-date with the literature scene.