美国国家公共电台 NPR Be More Than A Bookstore: A Brick-And-Mortar Shop's Key To Success

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It wasn't that long ago - right? - when we thought bookstores were dying. No more strolling bookshelves, chatting with staff about their favorite reads. Just go buy online - well, not so fast. Many independent bookstores, once threatened with extinction¹, are thriving. Barnes & Noble, still the dominant² chain, is trying to create a better customer experience. And even Amazon is building physical bookstores. NPR's Lynn Neary takes a look at why books are back.

LYNN NEARY, BYLINE³: Not too long ago, when Amazon first introduced the Kindle⁴ and e-books were all the rage, a lot of people thought printed books and the stores that sell them were going the way of dinosaurs⁵. A decade later, print is outselling digital. And Amazon is opening brick-and-mortar stores, seven so far. The newest is located in a high-end mall in New York City.

JENNIFER CAST: We call ourselves a physical extension of Amazon.

NEARY: Jennifer Cast is vice⁶ president of Amazon Books.

CAST: So when you walk into our front door, what you see is our first table, full of books. And it's called highly rated, 4.8 stars and above.

NEARY: Make no mistake. This is no fusty old shop where a customer can get lost in the stacks. There are no stacks. Instead, books are shelved with the covers facing out. And Cast says the store is organized around features familiar to anyone who has ever bought a book on Amazon, features like, if you like this, you'll love this. These features are based on data collected on the website or on Kindles⁷. And data, Cast says, is at the heart of the store.

CAST: We have so much wonderful information from customers about what they read and why they read and how they're reading. And to be able to surface that in a store to help customers discover books is what we're all about.

NEARY: And there's one other very important way the store connects to the website.

KATHERINE FABIANSKI: Yeah, so right over here, you can - we do have price-check scanners throughout the store. This one will give you the list price. But it'll also give you the Prime member price.

NEARY: Katherine Fabianski, assistant manager at the New York store, scan's a cookbook with a price of $35. A Prime Amazon member will get it for $19.77.

FABIANSKI: What's great about the store is, like, it brings a lot of our Prime members in because they got this price today. And they don't have to wait for it to come to their home.

NEARY: And then do people join Prime, too, also?

FABIANSKI: They do. You can join Prime at our register. Yeah, of course.

NEARY: Amazon's entry into the physical bookstore business could be viewed as a threat to small independents.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Did you all need a bag at all today?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Nope.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Absolutely.

NEARY: The Greenlight Bookstore in the Prospect⁸ Lefferts Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn is tucked in among an eclectic mix of stores - nail salons⁹, barber shops, dry cleaners, delis. Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, who owns Greenlight, says she's not too worried about the new Amazon store.

JESSICA STOCKTON BAGNULO: In so many ways, we're in a different business. And it seems very much like those stores are trying to replicate¹⁰ the online experience. And we are trying to do something completely different.

NEARY: This is the second store Stockton Bagnulo and her partner, Rebecca Fitting, have opened in Brooklyn. Their other store in the Fort Greene neighborhood has strong ties with the surrounding community.

They hope to build a similar relationship with people in this area because, Fitting says, indie stores that have the support of their local community are the ones that succeed.

REBECCA FITTING: And people are starting to understand and realize and learn a little bit more that shopping in your community helps you feel more connected. It helps your tax base. It helps make your surroundings more interesting. And if you don't support that, then it goes away.

NEARY: One way the store is working on building its relationships with the community is with events.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: So, Brice, if you could actually just stay up here at the counter and help any customers while we get all set up, that'll be perfect.

BRICE: OK.

NEARY: Recently, Greenlight employees set up folding chairs in the rear of the store to get ready for an evening event, a reading followed by a conversation between Mexican writer Yuri Herrera and Buzzfeed book editor Isaac Fitzgerald.

ISAAC FITZGERALD: Hello, sir.

YURI HERRERA: How - you're Isaac?

FITZGERALD: Isaac. Very nice to meet you.

HERRERA: Thank you, thank you for doing this.

FITZGERALD: Thank you for writing that book, which is absolutely marvelous.

HERRERA: No, it's...

FITZGERALD: I mean, all of them...

NEARY: Author events are becoming increasingly important to independent bookstores like Greenlight. Stockton Bagnulo says they're a way to sell books and build awareness¹¹. They also create an important role for the bookstore in the community.

STOCKTON BAGNULO: In reality, a bookstore is a really unique kind of space, where, you know, people from different walks of life can cross paths. I mean, it's a very sort of democratic kind of product. And it's kind of a space where people can come in and start to have conversations. And that's the kind of space we want to be.

NEARY: These days, it does seem that a bookstore has to be more than just a bookstore to succeed. In addition to author events, many stores host festivals and book groups. They have cafes, where customers can relax. Some even have full-scale kitchens.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: New call, two grilled¹² cheese and a mash¹³ a la carte.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Mash a la carte.

NEARY: Lunch is underway at this Barnes & Noble in suburban¹⁴ Eastchester, N.Y. Customers can choose from a menu that includes everything from ricotta pancakes to kale salad to entrees¹⁵ of chicken or salmon¹⁶.

ARMANDO: Good afternoon. How's everyone doing today? My name is Armando. I'll be taking care of the table this afternoon.

NEARY: Barnes & Noble is experimenting with restaurants in several stores. And manager Kathie Bannon says, so far, it's been well received.

KATHIE BANNON: We're fortunate that we have this platform to be able to experiment and see what this does. And from what I've been able to see and hear from people, they are so happy and so pleasantly surprised that they can add this to their life. They can add this to their routine.

NEARY: The restaurant, which includes an outdoor patio¹⁷ and a bar, opens out into the bookstore. It's designed around a wide-open, central space that Bannon refers to as the Piazza¹⁸. Shelves of books branch off from this area.

BANNON: Yeah, there's little nooks and crannies. And people, you know, can come. And they can get a glass of wine if they'd like. And they can come and get a, you know, assortment¹⁹ of things that they want to browse²⁰ through or, you know, whatever they like. Whatever makes them comfortable, we're - you know, we're very accommodating.

NEARY: Can they carry their glass of wine from the restaurant over to the book area (laughter)?

BANNON: Yes, they do. Many people do. They - they'll come in. They'll get their selection. They'll go have a glass of wine. And they'll do that in the restaurant as well.

NEARY: Barnes & Noble says all this is still in a testing stage. So it won't say whether the restaurant is helping²¹ to sell more books. And that, of course, is the whole point. Whether online or in a physical space, with a full menu or a makeshift seating area for events, bookstores do still revolve²² around books. Lynn Neary, NPR News.

1 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

2 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 kindle   

v.点燃，着火

参考例句：

• This wood is too wet to kindle.这木柴太湿点不着。
• A small spark was enough to kindle Lily's imagination.一星光花足以点燃莉丽的全部想象力。

5 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 kindles   

（使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的第三人称单数 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光

参考例句：

• And as kindles hope, millions more will find it. 他们的自由又将影响周围，使更多的人民得到自由。
• A person who stirs up trouble or kindles a revolt. 煽动叛乱者，挑动争端者挑起麻烦或引起叛乱的人。

8 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

9 salons   

n.（营业性质的）店( salon的名词复数 )；厅；沙龙（旧时在上流社会女主人家的例行聚会或聚会场所）；（大宅中的）客厅

参考例句：

• He used to attend to his literary salons. 他过去常常去参加他的文学沙龙。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Conspiracy theories about Jewish financiers were the talk of Paris salons. 犹太金融家阴谋论成为巴黎沙龙的话题。 来自互联网

10 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。

11 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

12 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

13 mash   

n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情

参考例句：

• He beat the potato into a mash before eating it.他把马铃薯捣烂后再吃。
• Whiskey,originating in Scotland,is distilled from a mash of grains.威士忌源于苏格兰，是从一种大麦芽提纯出来的。

14 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

15 entrees   

n.入场权( entree的名词复数 )；主菜

参考例句：

• Can I also take you order for your entrees now? 现在要不要也点主菜？ 来自互联网
• Before the entrees are served, the waiter first serves four cold dishes. 在正菜上桌之前，服务员先上了四个凉碟。 来自互联网

16 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

17 patio   

n.庭院，平台

参考例句：

• Suddenly, the thought of my beautiful patio came to mind. I can be quiet out there,I thought.我又忽然想到家里漂亮的院子，我能够在这里宁静地呆会。
• They had a barbecue on their patio on Sunday.星期天他们在院子里进行烧烤。

18 piazza   

n.广场；走廊

参考例句：

• Siena's main piazza was one of the sights of Italy.锡耶纳的主要广场是意大利的名胜之一。
• They walked out of the cafeteria,and across the piazzadj.他们走出自助餐厅,穿过广场。

19 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

20 browse   

vi.随意翻阅，浏览；(牛、羊等)吃草

参考例句：

• I had a browse through the books on her shelf.我浏览了一下她书架上的书。
• It is a good idea to browse through it first.最好先通篇浏览一遍。

21 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

22 revolve   

vi.(使)旋转；循环出现

参考例句：

• The planets revolve around the sun.行星绕着太阳运转。
• The wheels began to revolve slowly.车轮开始慢慢转动。