Thinking about avoiding the big book selling platforms, indie bookstores and indie authors, I suddenly find myself spending time thinking about launching both a publishing company and an online book store, aimed only at the things E and I ourselves like reading / want to read. It seems surprisingly easy to do, and to connect it to the Dutch logistical nexus of the entire book industry (called the ‘central book house’). In recent years they’ve retooled to cater to tiny publishers and sellers, including printing on demand and order fulfillment for the Netherlands and Belgium.
I have long been convinced that the next wave of commerce is going to focus on limits, not choice. Amazon promised access to every book every printed, Netflix to every movie ever made. But that’s too much, and it’s paralyzing. I’ve often dreamed of a bookstore, a real storefront, that sells just one book. Or perhaps 10 books.
Which is to say, I’d be a happy customer of the TEY Bookshop. Even if it means learning Dutch.
Exactly, small curated offerings. I find most of my reading through recommendations by people I know anyway. To be sure, there’s a bubble effect perhaps that I need to be aware of when it comes to non-fiction, but network recommendations definitely always have a role. The same way I browse people’s book cases, or used to until 2019 when visiting people at home was something we did… A tiny book store also means it is an executable idea. Learning Dutch would mostly be needed for physical books, but e-books would be no problem to deliver to you.