Nobly living w. borders

[Craig Bleakley]

I think a lot of P's work is relevant to this discussion of bookstores,
since it frequently touches on the slim chances of dealing with power
without becomng *of* it.  I think it asks us to think hard about the spots
we pick where to engage.

No, the folks who sell books at B&N don't neccessarily know much about, or
even like, books--much as the employees in the toiletries section of
Wal-Mart may not be terribly keen on toiletries.   But I'll engage with B&N
for very much the same reasons I engage with Microsoft, the Nissan Motor
Company, or my local baby bell, and why Hillary climbed mt. Everest.  The
typical B&N employee's disinterst in books may also be directly related to
their rather lenient return policy, of which, I confess, I have taken
fraudulent advantage on occasion (slyly and guiltily "returning" a recent
book I've found used in "new" condition).  

As for indies, they don't exist around here, except the delightful used
bookstore, where I make most of my purchases via bartering (trading books
for credit--mostly books I've picked up at library sales and whatnot
precisely for their marketability as "used bookstore fodder").  There's a
couple "university" bookstores, that will order anything.  Last summer, a
guy with a sandwich board stood in front of one of them, telling anyone who
would listen what a rat the owner was.

Listening to big-label CDs on my Sony player through my Technics reciever
whilst using Windows 3.2 on my Packard Bell, before jumping into my Nissan
Sentra to rent videos *anywhere* but Blockbuster (who find my lack of credit
cards reason enough to not engage *me*),

Craig B.