Bookshop Survey

[BobC]

that's a shame... I often got lost in Foyles for an entire day... but that was thiry + years ago.

[Joaz Banbeck]

In San Diego, there is not a go book to be found except for in one used book store...and that only because I own it.

[bobmcg]

In fairness.. if you went to a bookshop (other than a University bookshop) you wouldn't find many books on physics or maths at a high level..

You would in London. You can find shops with a shelf-ful of books on baseball, which amazes me. The game is virtually non-existent here. Yet Foyles has more baseball books than the biggest shop I found in San Francisco. But English go books are hard to come by except in games shops. Foyles usually has a few on go (5-6), but maybe hundreds on chess (though pruning back heavily in recent times, I suspect).

In Los Angeles, Kinokuniya had about 20 go books in Japanese (and also more go than shogi books, which is not unheard of but a little unusual) for which must be a tiny Japanese-reading population. Mark told me it had several English go books, too. I was surprised at how English books there were on origami - dozens.

It's all so patchy. But rather than blame the booksellers, I think we need to accept that the problem is that people don't buy many go books (even from established go publishers). I was told in Santa Barbara that the reason so few book reviews appear in the AGJ is probably that the editors and most of the AGA administrators don't buy go books themselves, so they pay no heed to books. They will publish a review if offered one, but won't actively seek one out, nor are books highlighted in other ways as a valuable resource (e.g. there is no handy list of books that can be passed to booksellers). The same seems to apply in other associations. As individuals they are entitled to ignore books, of course, but as journalists and administrators this seems likes bad journalism and bad administration. Or maybe I'm the one who's out of touch.

Most large bookstores in the USA, such as Barnes and Noble, have some go books. Often there is a copy of Iwamoto's Go for Beginners, for example. I've seen some of Janice Kim's books and Peter Shotwell's books. Small independent bookstores usually don't have much on Go. I suspect there are different reasons for the dearth of go books. Primary is the fact noted by John that the population of go book buyers is so small. Another factor is the way book stores get their stock. Book stores get books to sell from wholesalers, not usually directly from publishers, and which books they buy from the wholesalers is by-and-large based on lists put out from various sources. Wholesalers who supply bookstores most likely don't know about the major go publishers. Thus I doubt whether simply asking a store to stock go books would have much of an effect. On the positive side I've noticed that most stores that specialize in games (all sorts: Monopoly, chess, etc.) have some go sets for sale. To a go fan the equipment is not of high quality but it is there. I take this to mean that there must be a regular demand for it. The presence of Go for Beginners on bookstore shelves is about the right level for the demand for go sets in game shops. The demand for more advanced books like those from Kiseido, or John's wonderful Slate and Shell books, would be too low for most "brick-and-mortar" stores. Having a more advanced book or two on the shelf in a shop can be a good thing, even if they collect dust for years before selling. The first books I read after learning how to play from Arthur Smith's book were Ishi Press's Basic Techniques of Go (Haruyama and Nagahara) and Strategic Concepts of Go (Nagahara) which I found on the shelf in a local bookstore 40 years ago, and which sparked my serious interest in the game.

[hyperpape]

I'm surprised by the results of this thread. I had thought that every Barnes and Noble had one or two of Janice Kim's books, as well as one or two other introductory books, and that it would be the same for other large/chain stores. Guess I was wrong.

[Chew Terr]

I'm surprised by the results of this thread. I had thought that every Barnes and Noble had one or two of Janice Kim's books, as well as one or two other introductory books, and that it would be the same for other large/chain stores. Guess I was wrong.

Eh, that seems about right for Texas. It took a good while to gradually collect all the volumes of Janice Kim's books, but I got there.

[Marcus]

In fairness.. if you went to a bookshop (other than a University bookshop) you wouldn't find many books on physics or maths at a high level..

Actually, Chapters and Indigo books here in Ottawa have a rather full section of math and science books of all kinds. Not too many textbooks, but there are a number of higher-level concepts that are prominent enough on the shelves. Of course, if you're looking for textbooks, it's not the right place to be ...

[BaghwanB]

whta is curious is that in every book shop I go into there are shelves full of books on Sudoku.... I believe it's a Japanese game played on a grid.. can't see the attraction myself..

The attraction is that everyone who plays Sudoku is single digit.

Bruce "125436789" Young

[gogameguru]

that's a shame... I often got lost in Foyles for an entire day... but that was thiry + years ago.

Foyles is still fantastic. I went there last time I visited the UK and spent a good half a day there.

[cyclops]

bookshop amsterdam
Here you find tons of go books. Mostly in English. You should visit it when in the Netherlands. I'm sure you will spend more than you intended.

[xDragon]

I'm surprised by the results of this thread. I had thought that every Barnes and Noble had one or two of Janice Kim's books, as well as one or two other introductory books, and that it would be the same for other large/chain stores. Guess I was wrong.

thats how it is here in middle tennessee, but we do have an up and coming go community

[tapir]

whta is curious is that in every book shop I go into there are shelves full of books on Sudoku.... I believe it's a Japanese game played on a grid.. can't see the attraction myself..

This month I went to a bookshop. Opened a magazine on mindgames and guess what, they had a go column.

[clemi]

Where i live in Paris, you can easily find french go litterature in Fnac book stores, or all the english go books in small specialized game shops. I heard these were importing their books from The Netherlands or Germany...