Looking Around Graphic Novels

October 29th, 2007 at 9:54 pm (Miscellaneous, Take)

I decided to kill time by going to one of my favorite bookstores here in Manila. At first, my intended priority in going was to check up on that book I inquired about just last month. While waiting for the request to be processed, I then turned my gaze towards the “Graphic Novels” section, which just happens to be facing the counter and being covered by the opaque wall , displaying the book-of-the-week opposite it.

Taking a peek on the shelves of mangas, a few of them in tankoubon form, I noticed the demography of buyers as they browse through the huge selection of titles, from the obscure to the more familiar ones. I then noticed a small sign plastered in the middle dividing shelf. It read, “Do Not Open or Browse Through“.

It is then that I recalled a similar discussion surrounding bookstore policies being revised for the benefit of customer service and book quality. As it seems, the issue isn’t just relevant to those in the other side of the Pacific, but seem to be in occurence here as well. Imagine that.

And to think that this is merely a coincidence. Or that the bookstore I went through is just a local branch of an international chain of bookstores. :P

4 Comments

  1. Ace said,

    October 30, 2007 at 7:51 am

    I know that two of the local bookstores around here have signs up like that as well, but they don’t care if you’re just flipping through the book. From what I gather its mainly meant to deter the people who sit in there and read for hours and never buy anything.

  2. westbluef said,

    October 30, 2007 at 8:18 am

    Huh what’s the bookstore’s name?

    I also have that kind of problems when buying a manga XD espcially in power books fully booked and national bookstore

  3. Zeroblade said,

    October 30, 2007 at 12:05 pm

    Well hey, in “a different bookstore” (or something like that), they encourage you to open and browse through books.

  4. Ronin AnimeLover said,

    October 30, 2007 at 7:17 pm

    Ace Says:

    I know that two of the local bookstores around here have signs up like that as well, but they don’t care if you’re just flipping through the book. From what I gather its mainly meant to deter the people who sit in there and read for hours and never buy anything.
    Ah I see. I saw something like that in the bookstore I went to.

    Zeroblade Says:

    Well hey, in “a different bookstore” (or something like that), they encourage you to open and browse through books.
    I guess that varies from bookstore to bookstore. The one I went to was located in Shangrila Plaza.

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