Villain: Chapters, Indigo, Coles, Smithbooks, etc.

Not only is shopping at Chapters/Indigo/Whatever irritating beyond compare, but you are also making a political statement you may not agree with for every book (or scented votive candle) you buy there.

A portion of every dollar spent goes into the pockets of Heather Reisman, which makes sense since she owns it. What you may not know is that Ms Reisman gives some of her money to the Heseg Foundation, which pays for the university education of non-Israeli citizens once they've completed military service in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) (http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2007-06-07/news_story5.php), essentially rewarding thee individuals for their Israeli military activities.

So, every dollar you spend at Chapters/Indigo abets in some small way an illegal occupation that causes the unbearable suffering of 4 million Palestinians (and, less directly, the much less acute suffering of Israeli citizens) and perpetuates a cycle of violence that holds the entire world hostage. Enjoy your book!

I haven't been back to Toronto in a couple years but i don't remember so many people being absolutely convinced that anything you buy goes to destroying the world.

Buy a house? You have melted the ice caps.
Buy a book? That's one palestinian you just killed.
Buy a cup of coffee? You just burned down the amazon.

The guilt factor up there must be amazingly high.

Interesting.

Chapters/Indigo is physically and intellectually what a book store is not.

Sadly, perhaps, there is nothing unique about Chapters-Indigo. Retailing has headed towards the big-box model more generally. Most book distribution markets have been faithful to that trend, and undergone equivalent big-box-ization: think B&N and Borders in the U.S. English-language market, Renaud-Bray in French-language Quebec, and so forth.

And it's going still bigger. Think of how Walmart and Club Price and so on have become major distributors for certain book genres in their own right (hint: not the "literature" section), putting the same scare into the Renaud-Brays and ChaptersIndigos of the world that the latter put into less- or non-chained bookstores.

So, I mean, everyone loves a smaller, friendlier, less-rationalized bookstore, me included. But they're getting harder to find. Maybe, as the really really big boxes like Walmart skim the cream off the biggish boxes, that hyper-rationalization of the lucrative bits of the market opens up spaces for small booksellers with special niches to thrive again.

Let's hope. But, in the meantime, if the enemies are bigness and sameness and corporatization and rationalization, then ChaptersIndigo is not the message, but just a messenger -- their only distinction is in the manner in which they execute that plan, not whether or not they do so. I don't really disagree with the Villain status, insofar as they're our messenger, but I do think it's important to keep in mind where they're coming from.

Even then, though, the quest can become more tedious based off of the perpetually perplexing, arbitrary categorization system. Why is there a "Literature" section? It's all literature isn't it?

"Literature" is actually a pretty trade category used in bookstores, to mark off higherbrow fiction from the pulpy bestsellers (and, of course, from all the non-fiction).

You'd be better off attacking the categorization system's rationalized, non-arbitrary nature -- see generally BISAC and BIC codes, etc. This is a pretty big topic in the bookselling world. (A good overview here.)

Housewares is code for "suburbanite", a.k.a. an SUV-driving earth rapist who buys mindlessly and needlessly because they're all consumption-indoctrinated moist robots with no will of their own.

Or at least it seems that way to the kids from Brampton who escape to the Annex.

"Real" city folk have a minimalist aesthetic that precludes anything mass-produced or available at any retail establishment that isn't run by an independent sole proprietor.

David, Heseg does not support Israeli citizens coming out of conscription. It supports non-Israeli citizens (as I stated twice) who choose to enter the IDF.

Erm, if one was to immigrate to Israel, one would have to do the mandatory military service, I think.

If the issue is that people are immigrating to Israel, and that a fraction of a penny of every dollar goes to pay for their university studies after their military service -- well, on my list of things to get outraged about, this would be extremely low down. (Unless, of course, I considered the Israeli state an illegitimate one, and was on an ongoing campaign to stamp it out.)

That's a big difference, especially considering how unenthusiastic much of Israel's youth is towards military service.

Wait, there is a country where youth is unenthusiastic about mandatory military service? Shablul, I do not believe your unlikely tale for a minute.

Stacked in the window at the Manulife store today were copies of "The Israel Lobby".

So while you may feel that the few dollars that HR sends to Heseg out of her pocket taint the whole store by supporting the "wrong" side in the Israel/Palestine conflict, and that there have been a very limited number of books/mags that have been removed from the shelves, there are other books there that would seem to go in the opposite direction (supporting the "right" (for the knee-jerk liberal) side and that could have been kept off the shelves by a supporter of the Israeli cause.

Methinks the hate is more cuz its a big store, and people need more "intellectual" reasons to hate it.

Well, I buy nearly everything at Pages, Book City (invariably sullen salesgirls), or This Ain’t, but the one time they didn’t have a book I needed for an author’s appearance that night I actually got a lecture about buying it at Indigo. (An unlikely set of events, but it happened, and I didn’t need a lecture.)

You’re also forgetting that some of us read for more than pleasure, and if you want to sample and then buy a computer book, for example, you have no choice but to go to a chain bookstore. Design books are another category the independents do badly.

What does it matter how much of each dollar ends up in Israel? What if it adds up to a million dollars a year, doesn't that 'fraction of a penny of each dollar' start looking rather large? (I'd take issue with it if she was sending the money to the Hamas or PLO equivalent too.)

I was so disappointed when I found out (a few years ago) that WBBS was secretly owned by Chapters/Indigo/Coles. I only go to Book City and Pages now, but I have to admit I always liked that Chapters encouraged you to sit around reading. I used to be a big Chapters fan, but it soured on me when Indigo bought them up, and Coles shortly after. Monopolistic activity is enough for me, regardless of how much censorship or unfortunate political meddling they're involved with.

To those of you who are fans of sitting around the comfy chairs, or even on the floor at Indigo looking through reading materials: wear a Hazmat suit first. I've heard some pretty appalling stories.

I think Chapters/Indigo are great for the community. While most of the people posting here like the atmosphere of the smaller bookstores, newsflash people: many people do not!

When I was younger, small bookstores made me feel uncomfortable. I didn't (and still don't) like talking to employees to find out what the hot book was. The smaller bookstores where I came from tended to organize their books with only the spines of the books facing outwards due to their lack of shelf space. You know how hard it is to 'browse' like this? It's like if you were to try to pick yourself out a new cereal, except all the boxes in the supermarket were turned sideways.

The small bookstores that I grew up around were all designed for people who knew what they were looking for when they entered. I did not have the literary knowledge to be able to do that.

It was the larger chains that got me reading. Coles and Smithbooks. By properly merchandising their books, I could browse more easily without having to talk to an employee. Having access to a Coles and Smithbooks (then later Chapters) meant the difference between me reading a book and watching TV.

We don't all grow up so literary minded as people in the comments here. I for one think any company that gets people reading is far from evil.

It seems to me, a more accurate villains list should just say "Large corporations" and save the author some time.

I was at Book City last night looking for a book. I went upstairs to the art section but they didn't have it. When I asked the young woman (not so sullen) she searched their computer inventory and then suggested I try the Mirvish bookstore because they carry more art and design books (upon finding their site, it's one of their specialities). She even called the store while I stood there to see if they were still open (and to ask if they had the title). I doubt anyone at Indigo would do the same.

On the topic of organization, I've always wondered why books don't have their Dewey numbers printed right on the spine.