The Problem With Independent Bookstores

So I just came across this article, which is another "we all need to support independent bookstores" thing. (It's also annoying, but I'm not going to dwell on that because I don't like picking on the Scots because I heart the Scots.)

And I do believe in supporting independent bookstores. This one, this one, this one, and this one, have all been very good to me and to my work, and I try to shop at independent bookstores as much as I can because I like having them around. Also, like I said, three of these places have had me for at least two readings, and, at said readings, the staff at these places have been uniformly kind, funny, and welcoming, which has not been my experience with the staff at some of the chain stores where I've done readings and signings.

But here's the problem. Though I write mostly realistic fiction, I like to read a lot of horror, science fiction, and fantasy (I guess more the urban fantasy than the "quest for the magickal elfling's girdle of lordly might" kind, though I do also enjoy Conan stories.). And most independent bookstores just don't have very good selections in these genres. Most indie bookstores tend to skew literary, which is fine, but it means if I'm really in the mood for a book like this, (and I am) I pretty much have to go to a chain store. I would go to an indie for this stuff if I could, but they seem to stock the Philip K. Dick books I've already read, maybe a Neil Gaiman or two, Neil Stephenson, Tolkein, and that's about it. I mean, in a lot of independent stores, they don't even stock a copy of Perdido Street Station. Are you kiddin' me?

It's odd, because independent bookstores seem to pride themselves on having stuff available that's not just the same stuff you can find anywhere, stuff that can surprise and excite you, but their speculative fiction sections are often small, predictable, and dull.

(Aside--I'm reading and enjoying Working for the Devil, but I really bought it because of the incredibly cool cover design, which it shares with its sister novels in the series. Rock on, cover designer Peter Cotton! You made a sale! Now, this book is the kind of thing I like, so I might have found and bought it otherwise, but the cool cover definitely put it into the "I must have that book right now" category)

It's interesting, because indies complain about their financial woes all the time but seem, as a group, unwilling to devote more shelf space to a group of readers who, in my experience, buy a disproportionate amount of books. I'm just saying.

I should say, since I mentioned them earlier, that Joseph Beth has a great science fiction/fantasy/horror section, and the last time I was there, the very knowledgeable and friendly staffer told me to buy Shadows over Baker Street and World War Z, and neither one disappointed. But, then again, Joseph-Beth is a mini-chain, and their stores are enormous.