What are some of the tidal waves that independent booksellers are paddling against?
It’s kind of a global climate change for the book business. Globalization and corporatization are two of the major environmental factors affecting bookselling. As things become more and more centralized and controlled, they become less sustainable. Do consumers have power to reduce the tidal wave? I believe that culture making is not a luxury; it is a fundamental, sustaining function of society. And we must fall back onto remaking it ourselves. As long as there is a social need for independent minds, I believe that there will be a call for independent bookstores. There is the specter of our increasing dependence, particularly on Amazon. This is a very slippery slope, this dependence. Do you think a bookstore needs to specialize in at least one topic, in order to establish an identity? Yes, I do. I think that special areas of knowledge give a bookstore credence and distinction. People will bring you what they associate with you. Why does your store have an expansive Jungian section? I c
