Every Online Bookseller Should Read this Book!!!, 11 Jul 2008
I've been selling books on the Amazon Marketplace as a hobby for about 7 months now. After reading "The Home-Based Bookstore," I could definitely make more money by employing Steve Weber's advice.

His advice includes:
-where to find books
-how to price them
-how to handle inventory
-how to handle shipping
-how to deal with problem customers
-and how to deal with legal details (taxes, etc.)

I made about $400 in two weeks after selling the most sought-after books. The most sought-after books are usually college textbooks.

In one part of the book, he says how college students are sometimes careless when purchasing a book. They occasionally buy the older edition, thinking it's the edition they need. When they receive it, they get angry. But it's usually their fault for not searching with the ISBN or paying attention to the details. There are, however, some sellers who list the wrong edition on Amazon's Marketplace. It may not be intentional, but listing the wrong edition is a violation of the Amazon Marketplace guidelines. I once purchased a textbook from a third-party seller who sent me the older edition. I didn't do anything about it. I was still able to use it.

After a few weeks of selling, I started getting some feedback. The first five were all positive, but I got one neutral feedback. The neutral feedback I got was fair. I sent her the wrong book. It was my fault. I entered the title instead of the ISBN when I searched for it. ALWAYS use the ISBN. To prevent negative feedback from this buyer, I issued a refund immediately and allowed her to keep the book I had sent her. I lost money when I did this, but I couldn't afford negative feedback at the time.

I may never become a full-time bookseller online, but I will continue to do this as a hobby. I also think that college students should get a copy of this book. It will help them tremendously when purchasing their textbooks...and reselling them when they're done with them.

Brandon Simpson

A Great Introduction, 23 Mar 2006
As someone who's sold a few hundred books on Amazon over the years, I was curious to see what a real expert has to say -- especially as I'm about to embark on liquidating a relative's 3,000-volume collection! Overall, this is a great little introduction for anyone who's thought about selling books online. Weber covers all the bases succinctly, with plenty of URLs and references to more specialist titles for further reference. Lots of handy tips and suggestions throughout. The one quibble I would have is with the pricing discussion on page 51. In the case of a book where there are plenty of copies on the market, Weber advises matching, but not "lowballing" the price. However, the automation software elsewhere makes lowballing so easy, and thus to pervasive, that one is often forced into the practice. My own experience is that if I have a book for sale and there are 10 others just like it for sale at Amazon, the _only_ way to sell it is to give it the lowest price. And since we're talking $8.95 vs. $9.95, I'm not particularly put out. This quibble aside, I found this to be a very practical, level-headed guide, with lots of good resources -- although I would have liked a little more depth and detail on some of the sections.

Every Online Bookseller Should Read this Book!!!, 11 Jul 2008
I've been selling books on the Amazon Marketplace as a hobby for about 7 months now. After reading "The Home-Based Bookstore," I could definitely make more money by employing Steve Weber's advice.

His advice includes:
-where to find books
-how to price them
-how to handle inventory
-how to handle shipping
-how to deal with problem customers
-and how to deal with legal details (taxes, etc.)

I made about $400 in two weeks after selling the most sought-after books. The most sought-after books are usually college textbooks.

In one part of the book, he says how college students are sometimes careless when purchasing a book. They occasionally buy the older edition, thinking it's the edition they need. When they receive it, they get angry. But it's usually their fault for not searching with the ISBN or paying attention to the details. There are, however, some sellers who list the wrong edition on Amazon's Marketplace. It may not be intentional, but listing the wrong edition is a violation of the Amazon Marketplace guidelines. I once purchased a textbook from a third-party seller who sent me the older edition. I didn't do anything about it. I was still able to use it.

After a few weeks of selling, I started getting some feedback. The first five were all positive, but I got one neutral feedback. The neutral feedback I got was fair. I sent her the wrong book. It was my fault. I entered the title instead of the ISBN when I searched for it. ALWAYS use the ISBN. To prevent negative feedback from this buyer, I issued a refund immediately and allowed her to keep the book I had sent her. I lost money when I did this, but I couldn't afford negative feedback at the time.

I may never become a full-time bookseller online, but I will continue to do this as a hobby. I also think that college students should get a copy of this book. It will help them tremendously when purchasing their textbooks...and reselling them when they're done with them.

Brandon Simpson

A Great Introduction, 23 Mar 2006
As someone who's sold a few hundred books on Amazon over the years, I was curious to see what a real expert has to say -- especially as I'm about to embark on liquidating a relative's 3,000-volume collection! Overall, this is a great little introduction for anyone who's thought about selling books online. Weber covers all the bases succinctly, with plenty of URLs and references to more specialist titles for further reference. Lots of handy tips and suggestions throughout. The one quibble I would have is with the pricing discussion on page 51. In the case of a book where there are plenty of copies on the market, Weber advises matching, but not "lowballing" the price. However, the automation software elsewhere makes lowballing so easy, and thus to pervasive, that one is often forced into the practice. My own experience is that if I have a book for sale and there are 10 others just like it for sale at Amazon, the _only_ way to sell it is to give it the lowest price. And since we're talking $8.95 vs. $9.95, I'm not particularly put out. This quibble aside, I found this to be a very practical, level-headed guide, with lots of good resources -- although I would have liked a little more depth and detail on some of the sections.

Utterly Charming, 04 Aug 2008
Thank goodness this book is so short, because I could not put it down until I had read every last word. What a delightful little read, and how desperately I wanted to be a part of that book shop, and then Helene's little apartment. Not to be missed. Follow it up with the lovely film starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins.

in haste..., 17 Jan 2008
buy this book, it warms your heart. i am amazed it escaped my grasp for so long. sure, it's twee, there's no angst or attitude, politics or grit. amen, to that. it's a simple story about civilised people in a by-gone age, and it's true. i have since stalked the long closed bookshop. perhaps better to sit in a bloomsbury square and long for times past...

If you love books - you'll love 84 Charing Cross Road, 17 Apr 2007
This has become a favourite book for me. Told with such poignant charm, through the letters and other communications from the time. Even those letters which are obviously missing, lost through the passage of time - tell their own story. Helene's long distance friendship with Frank Doel, and others he worked with at that now famous address is a bittersweet one, and one which will remain with the reader long afterwards. Helene's love of books is infectious - and this book is therefore a must for anyone who feels strongly about the books in their home.

Friendship with Depth and Love, 17 Oct 2006
In these days of e-books, and bland books constructed from franchised ideas and formulas, we are presented "84, Charing Cross Road," a story about a relationship begun because of a mutual love of old great books.

Frank Doel owns the English bookstore, and Helene Hanff mails him a request for a book. Correspondence and a relationship begins. Contently and confidently married, Doel responds as an older brother might, and the two grow to cherish each other despite the distance.

As they care for each other, and slowly, their local friends and family become aware, we see how love transcends the sea. Neither character has an agenda, and this left me feeling a little less cynical about the world around me.

Like Nick Bantock's "Griffin and Sabine," it carries a romantic mystery and intrigue. We read the correspondence and imagine.

Like so many of today's e-mail- and chatroom-only friendships, they learn to appreciate each other, though knowing only the other as they choose to describe themselves.

This isn't a story about books or bookstores, despite the honest representation of their demeanor and personality. Any booklover knows the search for a book, and the texture of a bookseller's knowledge and connection with his books.

This is a book about the depth, trust, and love of one unexpected relationship. Book lovers will enjoy the context, and good friends will smile knowingly.

The movie with Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft is likewise worth viewing, carrying the letters into a emotional zone of charm and delight.

A wonderful book of letters, 23 May 2005
Helene Hanff and Frank Doel's letters to one another are beautifully written and very touching. The relationship that develops between the two of them despite, or perhaps because of, never meeting is great to see. The fact that it takes so long to happen as well (over a period of almost 20 years) just adds to how deep the friendship between these two people clearly was. The second part of the book (The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street) give a touching account of Helene Hanff's eventual visit to London to promote her book, sadly after Frank Doel has died and is a good postscript to the letters (even though it is actually longer than the main part of the book).

Every Online Bookseller Should Read this Book!!!, 11 Jul 2008
I've been selling books on the Amazon Marketplace as a hobby for about 7 months now. After reading "The Home-Based Bookstore," I could definitely make more money by employing Steve Weber's advice.

His advice includes:
-where to find books
-how to price them
-how to handle inventory
-how to handle shipping
-how to deal with problem customers
-and how to deal with legal details (taxes, etc.)

I made about $400 in two weeks after selling the most sought-after books. The most sought-after books are usually college textbooks.

In one part of the book, he says how college students are sometimes careless when purchasing a book. They occasionally buy the older edition, thinking it's the edition they need. When they receive it, they get angry. But it's usually their fault for not searching with the ISBN or paying attention to the details. There are, however, some sellers who list the wrong edition on Amazon's Marketplace. It may not be intentional, but listing the wrong edition is a violation of the Amazon Marketplace guidelines. I once purchased a textbook from a third-party seller who sent me the older edition. I didn't do anything about it. I was still able to use it.

After a few weeks of selling, I started getting some feedback. The first five were all positive, but I got one neutral feedback. The neutral feedback I got was fair. I sent her the wrong book. It was my fault. I entered the title instead of the ISBN when I searched for it. ALWAYS use the ISBN. To prevent negative feedback from this buyer, I issued a refund immediately and allowed her to keep the book I had sent her. I lost money when I did this, but I couldn't afford negative feedback at the time.

I may never become a full-time bookseller online, but I will continue to do this as a hobby. I also think that college students should get a copy of this book. It will help them tremendously when purchasing their textbooks...and reselling them when they're done with them.

Brandon Simpson

A Great Introduction, 23 Mar 2006
As someone who's sold a few hundred books on Amazon over the years, I was curious to see what a real expert has to say -- especially as I'm about to embark on liquidating a relative's 3,000-volume collection! Overall, this is a great little introduction for anyone who's thought about selling books online. Weber covers all the bases succinctly, with plenty of URLs and references to more specialist titles for further reference. Lots of handy tips and suggestions throughout. The one quibble I would have is with the pricing discussion on page 51. In the case of a book where there are plenty of copies on the market, Weber advises matching, but not "lowballing" the price. However, the automation software elsewhere makes lowballing so easy, and thus to pervasive, that one is often forced into the practice. My own experience is that if I have a book for sale and there are 10 others just like it for sale at Amazon, the _only_ way to sell it is to give it the lowest price. And since we're talking $8.95 vs. $9.95, I'm not particularly put out. This quibble aside, I found this to be a very practical, level-headed guide, with lots of good resources -- although I would have liked a little more depth and detail on some of the sections.

Utterly Charming, 04 Aug 2008
Thank goodness this book is so short, because I could not put it down until I had read every last word. What a delightful little read, and how desperately I wanted to be a part of that book shop, and then Helene's little apartment. Not to be missed. Follow it up with the lovely film starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins.

in haste..., 17 Jan 2008
buy this book, it warms your heart. i am amazed it escaped my grasp for so long. sure, it's twee, there's no angst or attitude, politics or grit. amen, to that. it's a simple story about civilised people in a by-gone age, and it's true. i have since stalked the long closed bookshop. perhaps better to sit in a bloomsbury square and long for times past...

If you love books - you'll love 84 Charing Cross Road, 17 Apr 2007
This has become a favourite book for me. Told with such poignant charm, through the letters and other communications from the time. Even those letters which are obviously missing, lost through the passage of time - tell their own story. Helene's long distance friendship with Frank Doel, and others he worked with at that now famous address is a bittersweet one, and one which will remain with the reader long afterwards. Helene's love of books is infectious - and this book is therefore a must for anyone who feels strongly about the books in their home.

Friendship with Depth and Love, 17 Oct 2006
In these days of e-books, and bland books constructed from franchised ideas and formulas, we are presented "84, Charing Cross Road," a story about a relationship begun because of a mutual love of old great books.

Frank Doel owns the English bookstore, and Helene Hanff mails him a request for a book. Correspondence and a relationship begins. Contently and confidently married, Doel responds as an older brother might, and the two grow to cherish each other despite the distance.

As they care for each other, and slowly, their local friends and family become aware, we see how love transcends the sea. Neither character has an agenda, and this left me feeling a little less cynical about the world around me.

Like Nick Bantock's "Griffin and Sabine," it carries a romantic mystery and intrigue. We read the correspondence and imagine.

Like so many of today's e-mail- and chatroom-only friendships, they learn to appreciate each other, though knowing only the other as they choose to describe themselves.

This isn't a story about books or bookstores, despite the honest representation of their demeanor and personality. Any booklover knows the search for a book, and the texture of a bookseller's knowledge and connection with his books.

This is a book about the depth, trust, and love of one unexpected relationship. Book lovers will enjoy the context, and good friends will smile knowingly.

The movie with Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft is likewise worth viewing, carrying the letters into a emotional zone of charm and delight.

A wonderful book of letters, 23 May 2005
Helene Hanff and Frank Doel's letters to one another are beautifully written and very touching. The relationship that develops between the two of them despite, or perhaps because of, never meeting is great to see. The fact that it takes so long to happen as well (over a period of almost 20 years) just adds to how deep the friendship between these two people clearly was. The second part of the book (The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street) give a touching account of Helene Hanff's eventual visit to London to promote her book, sadly after Frank Doel has died and is a good postscript to the letters (even though it is actually longer than the main part of the book).

A delicious treat for bibliophiles to savour, 28 Aug 2008
A sparkling treat of a book - the kind that you just know, after a page or two, that you will treasure forever. With its neat hardback format and thick creamy pages, it even looks right.

Buzbee combines everything bookish here, beginning with his own 'calling' to the world of books, at 15, reading 'The Grapes of Wrath' at school, and moving through his time as a bookseller and publishing sales rep to his current role as reader, writer and compulsive book buyer. On top of the autobiographical elements, Buzbee traces the history of the book and bookselling, from papyrus scrolls to roadside stalls, through developing bookshops, censorship and printing to the e-commerce of today. To cap it off there is a wealth of personal insight, from the author's favourite bookshops across the globe, lovingly evoked and fairly evaluated, to the simple joys of books - their texture and smell, the pleasure of admiring shelves and stacks of books, the slow contentment of coffee and browsing...

A magical little tome, definitely worth not only reading, but buying, rereading and passing down to the next generation of bibliophiles.

A 'must have' book for ALL bibliophiles!, 20 Mar 2008
I really enjoyed reading this book from start to finish. It's small and manageable; not too long, not too short. Although described as a memoir, it's not all about the author but contains snippets of information and history that all booklovers will devour. It's quite nicely bound and is lightweight enough to carry around. All-in-all if you're a true bibliophile, then this book is for YOU.

Lewis Buzbee tells his story as a partial memoir; the history of his interest, and then love, of books is described in some detail. He writes about his career as a bookseller (although always as an employee - he never ran his own shop) and as a publishers rep, and he writes about his love of visiting bookshops of all shapes and sizes. In-between this narrative is neatly woven a basic potted history of bookselling, from ancient times, through the Gutenberg press, and on into the production of mass market paperbacks. I was particularly fascinated to read about the scandal surrounding the publication of James Joyce's 'Ulysses', and how the publishing of the book was taken on by one of Joyce's friends, the proprietor of the little but exclusive Shakespeare & Co. bookshop in Paris. Copies of the book then had to find their way into England and America where it had already been censored. A fascinating account.

I have a couple of very small quibbles about Buzbee's style. At one point early on he mentions shop-lifting a book as a teenager; he narrates this in such a way that it sounds as though this is considered acceptable practice, or at the very least is an activity which lots of people have done and can understand. This did shock me a bit and marred my enjoyment slightly. In a couple of places he does also go over a point he's already mentioned which is a little repetitive. However, tiny quibbles aside, I found this book a delightful journey from cover to cover and will be cherishing my copy for some years to come.

THE JOY OF BOOKS, 10 May 2007
Can't remember where I heard about this volume but it sounded like I had to add it to my collection of books about books. Having read it I am so glad my local independent bookshop in England (sorry Amazon) managed to get hold of a copy. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop is a joy from beginning to end. Buzbee writes fondly and wittily of his subject and interweaves his personal experience as a bookseller and publisher's rep with a history of printing and the book in general. He must have done his background reading and manages to clarify aspects of the printed word of which I only had partial knowledge and does so in a style which is a pleasure to savour. The story of Ulysses and Shakespeare and Co., for example, I knew a bit about but now I know the whole story.
This book is a little gem and for me is the next best thing to emerge from America since Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris. And I must praise this book as object - its design and production values are among the highest. The typeset pages are a delight (well, apart from one or two typos!), the paper is perfect and I love the uncut fore-edge - not something that British publishers indulge in. The endpapers are yellow, of course, and the cover design inventive and witty.
I was a librarian for 10 years, an independent bookseller for 25, and I have been publishing and writing books since 1979. Although so many of your references are particular to the USA I too have shared many of your experiences and most definitely the same enthusiasms. Thankyou, Lewis Buzbee. If you read this and consider e-mailing me then please do - I have a book I should like to give you.

Every Online Bookseller Should Read this Book!!!, 11 Jul 2008
I've been selling books on the Amazon Marketplace as a hobby for about 7 months now. After reading "The Home-Based Bookstore," I could definitely make more money by employing Steve Weber's advice.

His advice includes:
-where to find books
-how to price them
-how to handle inventory
-how to handle shipping
-how to deal with problem customers
-and how to deal with legal details (taxes, etc.)

I made about $400 in two weeks after selling the most sought-after books. The most sought-after books are usually college textbooks.

In one part of the book, he says how college students are sometimes careless when purchasing a book. They occasionally buy the older edition, thinking it's the edition they need. When they receive it, they get angry. But it's usually their fault for not searching with the ISBN or paying attention to the details. There are, however, some sellers who list the wrong edition on Amazon's Marketplace. It may not be intentional, but listing the wrong edition is a violation of the Amazon Marketplace guidelines. I once purchased a textbook from a third-party seller who sent me the older edition. I didn't do anything about it. I was still able to use it.

After a few weeks of selling, I started getting some feedback. The first five were all positive, but I got one neutral feedback. The neutral feedback I got was fair. I sent her the wrong book. It was my fault. I entered the title instead of the ISBN when I searched for it. ALWAYS use the ISBN. To prevent negative feedback from this buyer, I issued a refund immediately and allowed her to keep the book I had sent her. I lost money when I did this, but I couldn't afford negative feedback at the time.

I may never become a full-time bookseller online, but I will continue to do this as a hobby. I also think that college students should get a copy of this book. It will help them tremendously when purchasing their textbooks...and reselling them when they're done with them.

Brandon Simpson

A Great Introduction, 23 Mar 2006
As someone who's sold a few hundred books on Amazon over the years, I was curious to see what a real expert has to say -- especially as I'm about to embark on liquidating a relative's 3,000-volume collection! Overall, this is a great little introduction for anyone who's thought about selling books online. Weber covers all the bases succinctly, with plenty of URLs and references to more specialist titles for further reference. Lots of handy tips and suggestions throughout. The one quibble I would have is with the pricing discussion on page 51. In the case of a book where there are plenty of copies on the market, Weber advises matching, but not "lowballing" the price. However, the automation software elsewhere makes lowballing so easy, and thus to pervasive, that one is often forced into the practice. My own experience is that if I have a book for sale and there are 10 others just like it for sale at Amazon, the _only_ way to sell it is to give it the lowest price. And since we're talking $8.95 vs. $9.95, I'm not particularly put out. This quibble aside, I found this to be a very practical, level-headed guide, with lots of good resources -- although I would have liked a little more depth and detail on some of the sections.

Utterly Charming, 04 Aug 2008
Thank goodness this book is so short, because I could not put it down until I had read every last word. What a delightful little read, and how desperately I wanted to be a part of that book shop, and then Helene's little apartment. Not to be missed. Follow it up with the lovely film starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins.

in haste..., 17 Jan 2008
buy this book, it warms your heart. i am amazed it escaped my grasp for so long. sure, it's twee, there's no angst or attitude, politics or grit. amen, to that. it's a simple story about civilised people in a by-gone age, and it's true. i have since stalked the long closed bookshop. perhaps better to sit in a bloomsbury square and long for times past...

If you love books - you'll love 84 Charing Cross Road, 17 Apr 2007
This has become a favourite book for me. Told with such poignant charm, through the letters and other communications from the time. Even those letters which are obviously missing, lost through the passage of time - tell their own story. Helene's long distance friendship with Frank Doel, and others he worked with at that now famous address is a bittersweet one, and one which will remain with the reader long afterwards. Helene's love of books is infectious - and this book is therefore a must for anyone who feels strongly about the books in their home.

Friendship with Depth and Love, 17 Oct 2006
In these days of e-books, and bland books constructed from franchised ideas and formulas, we are presented "84, Charing Cross Road," a story about a relationship begun because of a mutual love of old great books.

Frank Doel owns the English bookstore, and Helene Hanff mails him a request for a book. Correspondence and a relationship begins. Contently and confidently married, Doel responds as an older brother might, and the two grow to cherish each other despite the distance.

As they care for each other, and slowly, their local friends and family become aware, we see how love transcends the sea. Neither character has an agenda, and this left me feeling a little less cynical about the world around me.

Like Nick Bantock's "Griffin and Sabine," it carries a romantic mystery and intrigue. We read the correspondence and imagine.

Like so many of today's e-mail- and chatroom-only friendships, they learn to appreciate each other, though knowing only the other as they choose to describe themselves.

This isn't a story about books or bookstores, despite the honest representation of their demeanor and personality. Any booklover knows the search for a book, and the texture of a bookseller's knowledge and connection with his books.

This is a book about the depth, trust, and love of one unexpected relationship. Book lovers will enjoy the context, and good friends will smile knowingly.

The movie with Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft is likewise worth viewing, carrying the letters into a emotional zone of charm and delight.

A wonderful book of letters, 23 May 2005
Helene Hanff and Frank Doel's letters to one another are beautifully written and very touching. The relationship that develops between the two of them despite, or perhaps because of, never meeting is great to see. The fact that it takes so long to happen as well (over a period of almost 20 years) just adds to how deep the friendship between these two people clearly was. The second part of the book (The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street) give a touching account of Helene Hanff's eventual visit to London to promote her book, sadly after Frank Doel has died and is a good postscript to the letters (even though it is actually longer than the main part of the book).

A delicious treat for bibliophiles to savour, 28 Aug 2008
A sparkling treat of a book - the kind that you just know, after a page or two, that you will treasure forever. With its neat hardback format and thick creamy pages, it even looks right.

Buzbee combines everything bookish here, beginning with his own 'calling' to the world of books, at 15, reading 'The Grapes of Wrath' at school, and moving through his time as a bookseller and publishing sales rep to his current role as reader, writer and compulsive book buyer. On top of the autobiographical elements, Buzbee traces the history of the book and bookselling, from papyrus scrolls to roadside stalls, through developing bookshops, censorship and printing to the e-commerce of today. To cap it off there is a wealth of personal insight, from the author's favourite bookshops across the globe, lovingly evoked and fairly evaluated, to the simple joys of books - their texture and smell, the pleasure of admiring shelves and stacks of books, the slow contentment of coffee and browsing...

A magical little tome, definitely worth not only reading, but buying, rereading and passing down to the next generation of bibliophiles.

A 'must have' book for ALL bibliophiles!, 20 Mar 2008
I really enjoyed reading this book from start to finish. It's small and manageable; not too long, not too short. Although described as a memoir, it's not all about the author but contains snippets of information and history that all booklovers will devour. It's quite nicely bound and is lightweight enough to carry around. All-in-all if you're a true bibliophile, then this book is for YOU.

Lewis Buzbee tells his story as a partial memoir; the history of his interest, and then love, of books is described in some detail. He writes about his career as a bookseller (although always as an employee - he never ran his own shop) and as a publishers rep, and he writes about his love of visiting bookshops of all shapes and sizes. In-between this narrative is neatly woven a basic potted history of bookselling, from ancient times, through the Gutenberg press, and on into the production of mass market paperbacks. I was particularly fascinated to read about the scandal surrounding the publication of James Joyce's 'Ulysses', and how the publishing of the book was taken on by one of Joyce's friends, the proprietor of the little but exclusive Shakespeare & Co. bookshop in Paris. Copies of the book then had to find their way into England and America where it had already been censored. A fascinating account.

I have a couple of very small quibbles about Buzbee's style. At one point early on he mentions shop-lifting a book as a teenager; he narrates this in such a way that it sounds as though this is considered acceptable practice, or at the very least is an activity which lots of people have done and can understand. This did shock me a bit and marred my enjoyment slightly. In a couple of places he does also go over a point he's already mentioned which is a little repetitive. However, tiny quibbles aside, I found this book a delightful journey from cover to cover and will be cherishing my copy for some years to come.

THE JOY OF BOOKS, 10 May 2007
Can't remember where I heard about this volume but it sounded like I had to add it to my collection of books about books. Having read it I am so glad my local independent bookshop in England (sorry Amazon) managed to get hold of a copy. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop is a joy from beginning to end. Buzbee writes fondly and wittily of his subject and interweaves his personal experience as a bookseller and publisher's rep with a history of printing and the book in general. He must have done his background reading and manages to clarify aspects of the printed word of which I only had partial knowledge and does so in a style which is a pleasure to savour. The story of Ulysses and Shakespeare and Co., for example, I knew a bit about but now I know the whole story.
This book is a little gem and for me is the next best thing to emerge from America since Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris. And I must praise this book as object - its design and production values are among the highest. The typeset pages are a delight (well, apart from one or two typos!), the paper is perfect and I love the uncut fore-edge - not something that British publishers indulge in. The endpapers are yellow, of course, and the cover design inventive and witty.
I was a librarian for 10 years, an independent bookseller for 25, and I have been publishing and writing books since 1979. Although so many of your references are particular to the USA I too have shared many of your experiences and most definitely the same enthusiasms. Thankyou, Lewis Buzbee. If you read this and consider e-mailing me then please do - I have a book I should like to give you.

A Fantastic Insight Into The Most Famous Bookstore in Paris, 19 Nov 2005
This is quite a spectacular book, a privileged look into the most famous English language bookstore in Paris, Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare & Company. Not only is it delightful to read the history of how Sylvia's modest dream became such a huge success, but it is also fascinating to read about Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and James Joyce when they were young. The language is rich and fulfilling, the photos insightful, and in the end, I really felt as if I had been part of it all, sitting in Sylvia's bookstore, hearing the rustle of pages as the day passed away.

Every Online Bookseller Should Read this Book!!!, 11 Jul 2008
I've been selling books on the Amazon Marketplace as a hobby for about 7 months now. After reading "The Home-Based Bookstore," I could definitely make more money by employing Steve Weber's advice.

His advice includes:
-where to find books
-how to price them
-how to handle inventory
-how to handle shipping
-how to deal with problem customers
-and how to deal with legal details (taxes, etc.)

I made about $400 in two weeks after selling the most sought-after books. The most sought-after books are usually college textbooks.

In one part of the book, he says how college students are sometimes careless when purchasing a book. They occasionally buy the older edition, thinking it's the edition they need. When they receive it, they get angry. But it's usually their fault for not searching with the ISBN or paying attention to the details. There are, however, some sellers who list the wrong edition on Amazon's Marketplace. It may not be intentional, but listing the wrong edition is a violation of the Amazon Marketplace guidelines. I once purchased a textbook from a third-party seller who sent me the older edition. I didn't do anything about it. I was still able to use it.

After a few weeks of selling, I started getting some feedback. The first five were all positive, but I got one neutral feedback. The neutral feedback I got was fair. I sent her the wrong book. It was my fault. I entered the title instead of the ISBN when I searched for it. ALWAYS use the ISBN. To prevent negative feedback from this buyer, I issued a refund immediately and allowed her to keep the book I had sent her. I lost money when I did this, but I couldn't afford negative feedback at the time.

I may never become a full-time bookseller online, but I will continue to do this as a hobby. I also think that college students should get a copy of this book. It will help them tremendously when purchasing their textbooks...and reselling them when they're done with them.

Brandon Simpson

A Great Introduction, 23 Mar 2006
As someone who's sold a few hundred books on Amazon over the years, I was curious to see what a real expert has to say -- especially as I'm about to embark on liquidating a relative's 3,000-volume collection! Overall, this is a great little introduction for anyone who's thought about selling books online. Weber covers all the bases succinctly, with plenty of URLs and references to more specialist titles for further reference. Lots of handy tips and suggestions throughout. The one quibble I would have is with the pricing discussion on page 51. In the case of a book where there are plenty of copies on the market, Weber advises matching, but not "lowballing" the price. However, the automation software elsewhere makes lowballing so easy, and thus to pervasive, that one is often forced into the practice. My own experience is that if I have a book for sale and there are 10 others just like it for sale at Amazon, the _only_ way to sell it is to give it the lowest price. And since we're talking $8.95 vs. $9.95, I'm not particularly put out. This quibble aside, I found this to be a very practical, level-headed guide, with lots of good resources -- although I would have liked a little more depth and detail on some of the sections.

Utterly Charming, 04 Aug 2008
Thank goodness this book is so short, because I could not put it down until I had read every last word. What a delightful little read, and how desperately I wanted to be a part of that book shop, and then Helene's little apartment. Not to be missed. Follow it up with the lovely film starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins.

in haste..., 17 Jan 2008
buy this book, it warms your heart. i am amazed it escaped my grasp for so long. sure, it's twee, there's no angst or attitude, politics or grit. amen, to that. it's a simple story about civilised people in a by-gone age, and it's true. i have since stalked the long closed bookshop. perhaps better to sit in a bloomsbury square and long for times past...

If you love books - you'll love 84 Charing Cross Road, 17 Apr 2007
This has become a favourite book for me. Told with such poignant charm, through the letters and other communications from the time. Even those letters which are obviously missing, lost through the passage of time - tell their own story. Helene's long distance friendship with Frank Doel, and others he worked with at that now famous address is a bittersweet one, and one which will remain with the reader long afterwards. Helene's love of books is infectious - and this book is therefore a must for anyone who feels strongly about the books in their home.

Friendship with Depth and Love, 17 Oct 2006
In these days of e-books, and bland books constructed from franchised ideas and formulas, we are presented "84, Charing Cross Road," a story about a relationship begun because of a mutual love of old great books.

Frank Doel owns the English bookstore, and Helene Hanff mails him a request for a book. Correspondence and a relationship begins. Contently and confidently married, Doel responds as an older brother might, and the two grow to cherish each other despite the distance.

As they care for each other, and slowly, their local friends and family become aware, we see how love transcends the sea. Neither character has an agenda, and this left me feeling a little less cynical about the world around me.

Like Nick Bantock's "Griffin and Sabine," it carries a romantic mystery and intrigue. We read the correspondence and imagine.

Like so many of today's e-mail- and chatroom-only friendships, they learn to appreciate each other, though knowing only the other as they choose to describe themselves.

This isn't a story about books or bookstores, despite the honest representation of their demeanor and personality. Any booklover knows the search for a book, and the texture of a bookseller's knowledge and connection with his books.

This is a book about the depth, trust, and love of one unexpected relationship. Book lovers will enjoy the context, and good friends will smile knowingly.

The movie with Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft is likewise worth viewing, carrying the letters into a emotional zone of charm and delight.

A wonderful book of letters, 23 May 2005
Helene Hanff and Frank Doel's letters to one another are beautifully written and very touching. The relationship that develops between the two of them despite, or perhaps because of, never meeting is great to see. The fact that it takes so long to happen as well (over a period of almost 20 years) just adds to how deep the friendship between these two people clearly was. The second part of the book (The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street) give a touching account of Helene Hanff's eventual visit to London to promote her book, sadly after Frank Doel has died and is a good postscript to the letters (even though it is actually longer than the main part of the book).

A delicious treat for bibliophiles to savour, 28 Aug 2008
A sparkling treat of a book - the kind that you just know, after a page or two, that you will treasure forever. With its neat hardback format and thick creamy pages, it even looks right.

Buzbee combines everything bookish here, beginning with his own 'calling' to the world of books, at 15, reading 'The Grapes of Wrath' at school, and moving through his time as a bookseller and publishing sales rep to his current role as reader, writer and compulsive book buyer. On top of the autobiographical elements, Buzbee traces the history of the book and bookselling, from papyrus scrolls to roadside stalls, through developing bookshops, censorship and printing to the e-commerce of today. To cap it off there is a wealth of personal insight, from the author's favourite bookshops across the globe, lovingly evoked and fairly evaluated, to the simple joys of books - their texture and smell, the pleasure of admiring shelves and stacks of books, the slow contentment of coffee and browsing...

A magical little tome, definitely worth not only reading, but buying, rereading and passing down to the next generation of bibliophiles.

A 'must have' book for ALL bibliophiles!, 20 Mar 2008
I really enjoyed reading this book from start to finish. It's small and manageable; not too long, not too short. Although described as a memoir, it's not all about the author but contains snippets of information and history that all booklovers will devour. It's quite nicely bound and is lightweight enough to carry around. All-in-all if you're a true bibliophile, then this book is for YOU.

Lewis Buzbee tells his story as a partial memoir; the history of his interest, and then love, of books is described in some detail. He writes about his career as a bookseller (although always as an employee - he never ran his own shop) and as a publishers rep, and he writes about his love of visiting bookshops of all shapes and sizes. In-between this narrative is neatly woven a basic potted history of bookselling, from ancient times, through the Gutenberg press, and on into the production of mass market paperbacks. I was particularly fascinated to read about the scandal surrounding the publication of James Joyce's 'Ulysses', and how the publishing of the book was taken on by one of Joyce's friends, the proprietor of the little but exclusive Shakespeare & Co. bookshop in Paris. Copies of the book then had to find their way into England and America where it had already been censored. A fascinating account.

I have a couple of very small quibbles about Buzbee's style. At one point early on he mentions shop-lifting a book as a teenager; he narrates this in such a way that it sounds as though this is considered acceptable practice, or at the very least is an activity which lots of people have done and can understand. This did shock me a bit and marred my enjoyment slightly. In a couple of places he does also go over a point he's already mentioned which is a little repetitive. However, tiny quibbles aside, I found this book a delightful journey from cover to cover and will be cherishing my copy for some years to come.

THE JOY OF BOOKS, 10 May 2007
Can't remember where I heard about this volume but it sounded like I had to add it to my collection of books about books. Having read it I am so glad my local independent bookshop in England (sorry Amazon) managed to get hold of a copy. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop is a joy from beginning to end. Buzbee writes fondly and wittily of his subject and interweaves his personal experience as a bookseller and publisher's rep with a history of printing and the book in general. He must have done his background reading and manages to clarify aspects of the printed word of which I only had partial knowledge and does so in a style which is a pleasure to savour. The story of Ulysses and Shakespeare and Co., for example, I knew a bit about but now I know the whole story.
This book is a little gem and for me is the next best thing to emerge from America since Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris. And I must praise this book as object - its design and production values are among the highest. The typeset pages are a delight (well, apart from one or two typos!), the paper is perfect and I love the uncut fore-edge - not something that British publishers indulge in. The endpapers are yellow, of course, and the cover design inventive and witty.
I was a librarian for 10 years, an independent bookseller for 25, and I have been publishing and writing books since 1979. Although so many of your references are particular to the USA I too have shared many of your experiences and most definitely the same enthusiasms. Thankyou, Lewis Buzbee. If you read this and consider e-mailing me then please do - I have a book I should like to give you.

A Fantastic Insight Into The Most Famous Bookstore in Paris, 19 Nov 2005
This is quite a spectacular book, a privileged look into the most famous English language bookstore in Paris, Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare & Company. Not only is it delightful to read the history of how Sylvia's modest dream became such a huge success, but it is also fascinating to read about Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and James Joyce when they were young. The language is rich and fulfilling, the photos insightful, and in the end, I really felt as if I had been part of it all, sitting in Sylvia's bookstore, hearing the rustle of pages as the day passed away.

A novel full of melancholy, 02 Jul 2007
Rachel Kennedy is a solitary and self-sufficient woman who likes to lead a well-ordered life free of commitments and emotional turmoil. She owns a small bookshop in London and one day befriends Heather Livingstone and her parents Oscar and Dorrie - a mutual fondness which is a puzzle given Rachel's character. It soon becomes clear to Heather that Oscar and Dorrie think her a suitable companion for Heather, a kind of elder sister or guardian angel. Their good daughter, who comes home to them every weekend and telephones every day, is the world to them and they wish her still theirs and somebody else's as well, somebody whose supervision could replace their own. To them, Rachel could be Heather's passport to the world. So Oscar and Dorrie regard Rachel as a chaperone for Heather. And to Rachel her odd relationship with the Livingstones is of great value too. For her they are fixed points of reference in a slipping universe, abiding by rules which everybody else has broken.
It is when Heather decides to become engaged to Michael Sandberg, an awkward and untrustworthy man, that Rachel realises that her power over her friend is limited. The fate of this ill-assorted couple is bound to be doomed...
Well drawn characters, plausible situations and sound psychological motives are the strengths of "A Friend From England". A quiet, atmospheric novel as only Mrs Brookner can write them.

Every Online Bookseller Should Read this Book!!!, 11 Jul 2008
I've been selling books on the Amazon Marketplace as a hobby for about 7 months now. After reading "The Home-Based Bookstore," I could definitely make more money by employing Steve Weber's advice.

His advice includes:
-where to find books
-how to price them
-how to handle inventory
-how to handle shipping
-how to deal with problem customers
-and how to deal with legal details (taxes, etc.)

I made about $400 in two weeks after selling the most sought-after books. The most sought-after books are usually college textbooks.

In one part of the book, he says how college students are sometimes careless when purchasing a book. They occasionally buy the older edition, thinking it's the edition they need. When they receive it, they get angry. But it's usually their fault for not searching with the ISBN or paying attention to the details. There are, however, some sellers who list the wrong edition on Amazon's Marketplace. It may not be intentional, but listing the wrong edition is a violation of the Amazon Marketplace guidelines. I once purchased a textbook from a third-party seller who sent me the older edition. I didn't do anything about it. I was still able to use it.

After a few weeks of selling, I started getting some feedback. The first five were all positive, but I got one neutral feedback. The neutral feedback I got was fair. I sent her the wrong book. It was my fault. I entered the title instead of the ISBN when I searched for it. ALWAYS use the ISBN. To prevent negative feedback from this buyer, I issued a refund immediately and allowed her to keep the book I had sent her. I lost money when I did this, but I couldn't afford negative feedback at the time.

I may never become a full-time bookseller online, but I will continue to do this as a hobby. I also think that college students should get a copy of this book. It will help them tremendously when purchasing their textbooks...and reselling them when they're done with them.

Brandon Simpson

A Great Introduction, 23 Mar 2006
As someone who's sold a few hundred books on Amazon over the years, I was curious to see what a real expert has to say -- especially as I'm about to embark on liquidating a relative's 3,000-volume collection! Overall, this is a great little introduction for anyone who's thought about selling books online. Weber covers all the bases succinctly, with plenty of URLs and references to more specialist titles for further reference. Lots of handy tips and suggestions throughout. The one quibble I would have is with the pricing discussion on page 51. In the case of a book where there are plenty of copies on the market, Weber advises matching, but not "lowballing" the price. However, the automation software elsewhere makes lowballing so easy, and thus to pervasive, that one is often forced into the practice. My own experience is that if I have a book for sale and there are 10 others just like it for sale at Amazon, the _only_ way to sell it is to give it the lowest price. And since we're talking $8.95 vs. $9.95, I'm not particularly put out. This quibble aside, I found this to be a very practical, level-headed guide, with lots of good resources -- although I would have liked a little more depth and detail on some of the sections.

Utterly Charming, 04 Aug 2008
Thank goodness this book is so short, because I could not put it down until I had read every last word. What a delightful little read, and how desperately I wanted to be a part of that book shop, and then Helene's little apartment. Not to be missed. Follow it up with the lovely film starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins.

in haste..., 17 Jan 2008
buy this book, it warms your heart. i am amazed it escaped my grasp for so long. sure, it's twee, there's no angst or attitude, politics or grit. amen, to that. it's a simple story about civilised people in a by-gone age, and it's true. i have since stalked the long closed bookshop. perhaps better to sit in a bloomsbury square and long for times past...

If you love books - you'll love 84 Charing Cross Road, 17 Apr 2007
This has become a favourite book for me. Told with such poignant charm, through the letters and other communications from the time. Even those letters which are obviously missing, lost through the passage of time - tell their own story. Helene's long distance friendship with Frank Doel, and others he worked with at that now famous address is a bittersweet one, and one which will remain with the reader long afterwards. Helene's love of books is infectious - and this book is therefore a must for anyone who feels strongly about the books in their home.

Friendship with Depth and Love, 17 Oct 2006
In these days of e-books, and bland books constructed from franchised ideas and formulas, we are presented "84, Charing Cross Road," a story about a relationship begun because of a mutual love of old great books.

Frank Doel owns the English bookstore, and Helene Hanff mails him a request for a book. Correspondence and a relationship begins. Contently and confidently married, Doel responds as an older brother might, and the two grow to cherish each other despite the distance.

As they care for each other, and slowly, their local friends and family become aware, we see how love transcends the sea. Neither character has an agenda, and this left me feeling a little less cynical about the world around me.

Like Nick Bantock's "Griffin and Sabine," it carries a romantic mystery and intrigue. We read the correspondence and imagine.

Like so many of today's e-mail- and chatroom-only friendships, they learn to appreciate each other, though knowing only the other as they choose to describe themselves.

This isn't a story about books or bookstores, despite the honest representation of their demeanor and personality. Any booklover knows the search for a book, and the texture of a bookseller's knowledge and connection with his books.

This is a book about the depth, trust, and love of one unexpected relationship. Book lovers will enjoy the context, and good friends will smile knowingly.

The movie with Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft is likewise worth viewing, carrying the letters into a emotional zone of charm and delight.

A wonderful book of letters, 23 May 2005
Helene Hanff and Frank Doel's letters to one another are beautifully written and very touching. The relationship that develops between the two of them despite, or perhaps because of, never meeting is great to see. The fact that it takes so long to happen as well (over a period of almost 20 years) just adds to how deep the friendship between these two people clearly was. The second part of the book (The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street) give a touching account of Helene Hanff's eventual visit to London to promote her book, sadly after Frank Doel has died and is a good postscript to the letters (even though it is actually longer than the main part of the book).

A delicious treat for bibliophiles to savour, 28 Aug 2008
A sparkling treat of a book - the kind that you just know, after a page or two, that you will treasure forever. With its neat hardback format and thick creamy pages, it even looks right.

Buzbee combines everything bookish here, beginning with his own 'calling' to the world of books, at 15, reading 'The Grapes of Wrath' at school, and moving through his time as a bookseller and publishing sales rep to his current role as reader, writer and compulsive book buyer. On top of the autobiographical elements, Buzbee traces the history of the book and bookselling, from papyrus scrolls to roadside stalls, through developing bookshops, censorship and printing to the e-commerce of today. To cap it off there is a wealth of personal insight, from the author's favourite bookshops across the globe, lovingly evoked and fairly evaluated, to the simple joys of books - their texture and smell, the pleasure of admiring shelves and stacks of books, the slow contentment of coffee and browsing...

A magical little tome, definitely worth not only reading, but buying, rereading and passing down to the next generation of bibliophiles.

A 'must have' book for ALL bibliophiles!, 20 Mar 2008
I really enjoyed reading this book from start to finish. It's small and manageable; not too long, not too short. Although described as a memoir, it's not all about the author but contains snippets of information and history that all booklovers will devour. It's quite nicely bound and is lightweight enough to carry around. All-in-all if you're a true bibliophile, then this book is for YOU.

Lewis Buzbee tells his story as a partial memoir; the history of his interest, and then love, of books is described in some detail. He writes about his career as a bookseller (although always as an employee - he never ran his own shop) and as a publishers rep, and he writes about his love of visiting bookshops of all shapes and sizes. In-between this narrative is neatly woven a basic potted history of bookselling, from ancient times, through the Gutenberg press, and on into the production of mass market paperbacks. I was particularly fascinated to read about the scandal surrounding the publication of James Joyce's 'Ulysses', and how the publishing of the book was taken on by one of Joyce's friends, the proprietor of the little but exclusive Shakespeare & Co. bookshop in Paris. Copies of the book then had to find their way into England and America where it had already been censored. A fascinating account.

I have a couple of very small quibbles about Buzbee's style. At one point early on he mentions shop-lifting a book as a teenager; he narrates this in such a way that it sounds as though this is considered acceptable practice, or at the very least is an activity which lots of people have done and can understand. This did shock me a bit and marred my enjoyment slightly. In a couple of places he does also go over a point he's already mentioned which is a little repetitive. However, tiny quibbles aside, I found this book a delightful journey from cover to cover and will be cherishing my copy for some years to come.

THE JOY OF BOOKS, 10 May 2007
Can't remember where I heard about this volume but it sounded like I had to add it to my collection of books about books. Having read it I am so glad my local independent bookshop in England (sorry Amazon) managed to get hold of a copy. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop is a joy from beginning to end. Buzbee writes fondly and wittily of his subject and interweaves his personal experience as a bookseller and publisher's rep with a history of printing and the book in general. He must have done his background reading and manages to clarify aspects of the printed word of which I only had partial knowledge and does so in a style which is a pleasure to savour. The story of Ulysses and Shakespeare and Co., for example, I knew a bit about but now I know the whole story.
This book is a little gem and for me is the next best thing to emerge from America since Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris. And I must praise this book as object - its design and production values are among the highest. The typeset pages are a delight (well, apart from one or two typos!), the paper is perfect and I love the uncut fore-edge - not something that British publishers indulge in. The endpapers are yellow, of course, and the cover design inventive and witty.
I was a librarian for 10 years, an independent bookseller for 25, and I have been publishing and writing books since 1979. Although so many of your references are particular to the USA I too have shared many of your experiences and most definitely the same enthusiasms. Thankyou, Lewis Buzbee. If you read this and consider e-mailing me then please do - I have a book I should like to give you.

A Fantastic Insight Into The Most Famous Bookstore in Paris, 19 Nov 2005
This is quite a spectacular book, a privileged look into the most famous English language bookstore in Paris, Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare & Company. Not only is it delightful to read the history of how Sylvia's modest dream became such a huge success, but it is also fascinating to read about Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and James Joyce when they were young. The language is rich and fulfilling, the photos insightful, and in the end, I really felt as if I had been part of it all, sitting in Sylvia's bookstore, hearing the rustle of pages as the day passed away.

A novel full of melancholy, 02 Jul 2007
Rachel Kennedy is a solitary and self-sufficient woman who likes to lead a well-ordered life free of commitments and emotional turmoil. She owns a small bookshop in London and one day befriends Heather Livingstone and her parents Oscar and Dorrie - a mutual fondness which is a puzzle given Rachel's character. It soon becomes clear to Heather that Oscar and Dorrie think her a suitable companion for Heather, a kind of elder sister or guardian angel. Their good daughter, who comes home to them every weekend and telephones every day, is the world to them and they wish her still theirs and somebody else's as well, somebody whose supervision could replace their own. To them, Rachel could be Heather's passport to the world. So Oscar and Dorrie regard Rachel as a chaperone for Heather. And to Rachel her odd relationship with the Livingstones is of great value too. For her they are fixed points of reference in a slipping universe, abiding by rules which everybody else has broken.
It is when Heather decides to become engaged to Michael Sandberg, an awkward and untrustworthy man, that Rachel realises that her power over her friend is limited. The fate of this ill-assorted couple is bound to be doomed...
Well drawn characters, plausible situations and sound psychological motives are the strengths of "A Friend From England". A quiet, atmospheric novel as only Mrs Brookner can write them.

Fascinating glimpse behind the homepage, 08 Aug 2006
How post-modern to be writing a review on Amazon about a book by the man who wrote reviews on Amazon!

As a long-time customer intrigued by the mystique surrounding one of the few enduring dot-com successes, I thought this would be a good holiday read. As an accomplished literary editor, James Marcus can write. I found his deliberations on Ralph Waldo Emerson a little tiresome; but his vivid descriptions of what life at Amazon was like from the very early days are compelling.

He recreates the heady buzz of "making history" wonderfully. He and his colleagues become characters in a micro-serfs-like drama - but far more exciting, energised and real than Copeland's fiction. As synonomous as Amazon has become with e-tailing just about anything, it is bizarre to read about how ground-breaking the introduction of music was to an online bookseller (Project X!)

As employee #55, Marcus held a position of quite some responsibility - spending a considerable time managing the Amazon homepage (in the days before Jeff's personalisation obsession created the Amabot). He eventually rose to Head of Literature and Fiction in an organisation that once employed over 8,000 people.

As the internet buble burst, you can really feel the combination of disbelief and misplaced optimism that many Amazonians felt as the lay-offs began. Towards the end of the book I felt genuine sympathy for the demise of the `Editors' due to pressure from "the MBAs", customer reviews and the pervasive personalisation Amabot.

This is a well-written insight into an internet and business legend that will entertain anyone who's thought `I wonder what it's like to work at Amazon'.




THE RISE OF A RETAIL GIANT..., 14 Jul 2005
This is a marvelously written book about the early days of Amazon by one who was employed there in the capacity of editor. This is an insider's observation of an e-commerce leviathan's rise from obscurity. The author reflects on the heady, halcyon days when Amazon was just a newly minted internet book seller, hoping to make its mark. The reader can almost taste the author's enthusiasm for the time he spent working for Amazon in those early days. Who wouldn't be enthusiastic, having worked for a company that gave its employees stock options that, at the height of the dot.com craze, were worth millions.

It was not, however, just about the money. It was also about the opportunity to be on the ground floor of a business that would change the retailing community forever. It was about the camaraderie and the solidarity in those early days, as the employees all wore many hats. The author lets the reader sneak a peek at job interviews. He allows the reader to sit in on staff meetings with him, as well as trade shows, corporate picnics, and retreats that were like pep rallies. It is a most intriguing birds-eye view.

As Amazon grew and changed, so did the author's position as editor. Then, the death knell began ringing for the editors, when the concept of customer reviews developed and grew, becoming a cultural phenomenon unto itself, laying the groundwork for the obsolescence of the job of editor as it was originally constituted. Moreover, the freewheeling, by the seat of your pants operation of Amazon had given over to a more corporate structure. The author worked at Amazon from 1996 to 2001, and his nostalgic reminiscences make for absorbing reading. Those who are devotees of Amazon will find this well-written book heady stuff, indeed.

Case History of Innovation and Editorial-Business Conflicts, 15 Dec 2004
If you read the business press after a start-up has blossomed, everything is very neat and tidy. The actual process of becoming a healthy company is much messier than that, filled with unexpected changes, false moves and painful retreats. Amazonia is the first book I have read about Amazon.com that captures the process of its development from an insider's perspective as the company grew from a fledgling in books to a powerhouse across many product categories.

At the same time, the book does an even better job of capturing the inherent conflicts between editors and those seeking to optimize profits in any publishing related enterprise. Being an on-line bookstore that turned into on-line mall only served to make the conflict sharper and more painful for the editors.

I must admit that I liked Amazon.com much better when it was a book-only site. The commitment then to having quality reviews by excellent editors made the site seem like visiting a knowledgeable independent bookstore where you knew the people could be trusted to give you good advice. Putting in the editorial reviews now on books is only a partial substitute for that element of Amazon.com's past. The silly recommendations of the software just clutter up the pages now. I was very glad to see that Mr. Marcus dealt with this issue so well. Amateur reviewers will be intrigued about what he has to say about us.

Finally, the book looks at how the wealth that a successful start-up creates affects those who work for the company. Like many early employees (Mr. Marcus was #55), he left when his original, pre-IPO options were all vested. The price he paid for that wealth in his personal life isn't fully clear, but you get a sense that working at Amazon.com didn't help matters.

Although Mr. Marcus has a powerful story to tell and can turn a phrase and a sentence quite well, the book's organizational structure leaves a lot to be desired. I graded the book down accordingly.

Casual fans of Amazon.com will enjoy reading about the background behind all of those decisions that puzzled us at the time. What were they thinking? For those who are newer Amazon.com fans, the book has considerable early history covering 1996-1999 that will entertain and enlighten.

A Humanist In The Dark Wood of the Internet Boom, 31 Jul 2004
James Marcus, author of "Amazonia:Five Years at the Epicenter of the Dot.Com. Juggernaut", compares his role as a humanist/editor at Amazon with Ralph Waldo Emerson's life and work. He felt Emerson had looked at the history of idealistic thought before coming up with his own version. Ralph Waldo Emerson's Theory of Everything:

" Whenever a true theory appears, it will be its own evidence. Its test is, that it will explain all phenomena. Now many are thought not only unexplained but inexplicable, as language, sleep, madness, dreams,, beasts, sex"

How does this relate to Amazon, hang on this is going to be a fun ride!

In 1996, Marcus James, author, lived in Portland, Oregon with his wife and baby son. He was trying to support them all with his writing and not succeeding. He received an offer to apply for a job at this new Dot.com, Amazon. He flew to Seattle- met with Jeff Bezos in the small building that had doors as desks. The interview with Jeff was a bit bizarre- Jeff asked everyone what their SAT scores were and also included some esoteric questions. James did well and asked a question of his own, knowing Jeff's first job was working with Hedge Funds. He asked for an explanation of Hedge Funds, and how they worked. He was also interviewed by almost everyone else at Amazon and felt the excitement in the place.

After a bit of time, James and family were ensconced in Seattle . James was the first senior editor to write reviews of the books Amazon was selling. He met some extraordinary people and had good success. He was in at the beginning, housing in a warehouse, and saw Amazon grow from a small group of 40 or so to thousands and thousands of employees. He saw the growth from email account with CompuServe or crash-prone AOl to high-speed computer software that does everything. He and the rest of the employees all went to the warehouse at Christmas time and helped wrap and pack books. They roamed all over the warehouse for each order and learned the works . James saw the explosive rise of Amazon.com and the traumatic fall, where all of his colleagues were looking over their back waiting for the "pink" slip. James survived at Amazon, and if it was not for the death of his marriage, and a new found love, he might still be there. He tells us about these colleagues, their quirks and successes. His first trip to the Chicago Book Fair, and his time manning the Amazon.com booth. The funny stories of their retreats and company picnics. The goofy things that happened, the fun and excitement of a new start-up.

This is not a tell-all book, James wrote and perfected the first 45 word review known as" haiku of book criticism." I am a reviewer at Amazon, and I have great interest in how the gold stars, rankings and Jeff Bezos philosophy "Every day is the first day of Amazon, COM." works. This is an inside look at Amazon- the fun and the freakiness. A book hard to put down.
James Marcus is an excellent writer- informative, funny and precise. I finished the book feeling like I have met people who worked at a succesful company that includes community and understands the real world of commerce. prisrob

Being a literary editor at Amazon in the heyday, 20 Jul 2004
There are "editors" at Amazon today, but what they mostly do is censor reviews by Amazon.com customers. There was, however, a Hellenic time not too many years ago when euphoria wafted across dot.com land like the heady scent of flowers in springtime, and nobody really knew what they were doing, and everybody was going to get filthy rich.

It was then in 1996 that James Marcus, literary type, was lured to Amland to bring, he thought, some literary class to a commercial venture. He was thus among the original denizens of Amazonia, #77 on the hired list--a list that eventually included over eight thousand names. Hired to write quickie reviews and interview writers and blurb up the Amazon pages, Marcus also learned how to answer e-mail cheerily and helpfully, how to change the content on Amazon's pages, and occasionally how to stuff product into boxes for shipping.

One can see that Marcus was a little older, noticeably less geeky, and somewhat of a literary dandy compared to his fellow stock option holders. One can further see that he played the game with an eye on the exit and was never completely comfortable being a corporate cog. I was reminded of the strong allegiance to the corporate family that the modern corporation demands of its white-collar types, the long hours, the frequent meetings and the morale- and team-building conferences, the pep rallies, the employee trips and outings, etc.

The story here is not a tell-all (although there are some juicy tidbits) nor is it a chronicle of the rise and fall, and rise again of one of the Internet's stellar giants. Instead it is a very personal tale of being hired by Amazon in 1996, what he did, whom he met and worked with, what they said and did, and why he eventually left. His own personal rise and fall of fortune, peaking at about $9-million early in the year 2000 (consisting mostly of unvested stock options that he couldn't yet sell) and ending during the meltdown, is an interesting one nonetheless, and Marcus tells it well. As a literary type, he takes his time to polish the prose and use authentic diction; and there is considerable evidence of a brow-knitted search for le bon mot, which he often finds. Mainly, he has uncluttered the text and attended to the reader's needs, and so the story flows.

One can see, of course, that this was premeditated. Marcus knew he was going to write about his experiences at Amazon as soon as he was hired, or perhaps before. That is, he took notes while he whistled while he worked, which is why he can simulate conversations eight years old and can recall the exact titles of books he chased down in Amazon.com's mammoth Dawson Street warehouse.

But one is struck by how downright mundane Marcus gets at times. Here he is at the warehouse doing the obligatory help-out during the Christmas rush. He's talking about the employees who ship the stuff year round. He says, "They considered themselves the core of the business, the extreme employees. Yet they weren't being rewarded with stock options like their white-collar counterparts. It made for the occasional display of territorial rudeness." And then he gives us some action and conversation that amounts to "a tall guy with a tongue stud" standing in his way and not responding to his "can I get by?"

Not exactly exhilarating stuff, and to be honest, some of this will bore a lot of readers.

More interesting is this story: Marcus was at a morale-building ski trip conference in his first year at Amazon. He joined a group at the hotel bar playing a parlor game in which you have to name a movie star of the same sex that you would have sex with. Jeff (the Jeff) was in the group. Guess whom Jeff Bezos named? Indiana Jones! (That would be Harrison Ford.)

Marcus's portrait of CEO and visionary Jeff Bezos is carefully if sketchily drawn, and Marcus seems to get as much of Jeff into the book as he can. There is Jeff planning, scheming, laughing, flying everywhere, appearing, speaking, guiding, cajoling, mesmerizing, seemingly having a lot of fun. Jeff even worked (briefly for show, of course) in the warehouse running a cart up and down the aisles "picking" books to send to customers.

Marcus recounts some of Jeff's mistaken purchases (what's a few hundred million dollars more or less?), and reports on once seeing Jeff give an employee a public dressing down. But mostly we see Jeff at something close to play: Jeff genially allowing himself to be dunked at a company picnic (by employees throwing a ball at a target), Jeff in a hula skirt, etc. Indeed, Marcus finds nothing negative to say (or show) about one of the Internet's most powerful moguls. One gets the sense that Jeff never showed his claws in Marcus's presence or that Marcus is being more than careful.

In the Epilogue, we see Jeff playing tennis against Anna Kournikova in a PR stunt while Marcus watches, the manuscript of this book under his arm, hoping to get Jeff's attention and hand it to him.

In the final analysis what Marcus finds out about Amazon is that it's "always day one" (one of Jeff's slogans) and what really counts is "monetizing those eyeballs" and "revenue velocity."

Bottom line: a little too precious at times, a little too mundane, but overall a good read that will especially appeal to dot.com watchers and Amazonians, past and present.