Bookish Diversions: Surprise! You Need This Book

Bookstores and the Problem of Discoverability, Books as Decoration (Ugh), Books as Prayer (Yes), Kids and History, More

¶ Surprise! You need this book! No, you didn’t even know it existed until a moment ago, but that’s what a good bookstore does! It provides an environment for discovery: “The most important product sold by a bookstore is not the books themselves but rather the browsing experience. The good bookstore is designed to lure the customer deeper and deeper insi…