From Across The Street at Webster Wok
Pudd’nhead Books is located in Webster Groves at 8157 Big Bend in the Old Orchard neighborhood. This is a hip and trendy area with people out walking and jogging. Kids were hanging out in a gazebo across the street. Park benches on grassy knolls were not vacant. Shop windows were bustling with activity. A Starbucks across the way was busy steaming and frothing. Suburban homes down the road, where its cool to put bright colored Adirondack chairs on your lawn as ornaments which no one ever sits in, were being tended to with garden hoses and white picket fence gossip. It’s a great little area that deserves a quaint little bookstore, of which Pudd’nhead sadly is not.
I almost passed the place because there was no sign on the building other than BOOKS in bold letters across the window. Thankfully I had written down the address and there was a stop light out front where I was able to make a quick turn to come back around and find parking. By the way, there’s ample free parking behind the shops across the street. I cut through a McDonald’s parking lot to get back to the light where I had turned and made it across the street safely.
Kids Section From the Back of The Store
There was a sign on the door asking you to pardon the mess because they’d just moved into the new location. Upon walking in, you’ll find a long narrow shotgun house-like store with large comfy sofas immediately to your left next to the cashwrap. Bookshelves line the walls down both sides and curve to the right in the back. There are a few stanchions and tables down the middle.
The majority of the store caters to children, with picture books and massive teen and tween fiction filling the store. Small chairs, including an adorable tiny chaise lounge, line the main aisle where kids can sit a spell to read. The shelves are a bit narrow, and all of the stock is faced out for the most part – a good tip for a kids bookstore because kids are attracted by those colorful book covers.
Adult Nonfiction
There was a seasonal table up front filled with ghost and vampire titles for Halloween, including Twilight. Gag! I was pleased to see Joe Hill’s latest, Horns, on the table though – a book I have been wanting to read after enjoying Heart Shaped Box. The table next to this boasted books for upcoming author signings.
As the store curves near the back, it becomes a space more for adults starting with a small fiction section. Mystery and thriller was even less. I did find Koontz and King in the Sci Fi/Fantasy section. No hardcover though, and they were books I already owned. History, Poetry, Religion, and Nature along with other subjects each have their own row of shelves as the store comes to an abrupt dead end around a corner.
Stock was sparse, although this could have been from the recent move and maybe there’s more to come. Notice even in my adult nonfiction pic to the right that all the books are faced out. The back of the store was a bit in disarray, also probably from the move. A table near the adult fiction sections boasted a nice selection of lesser know titles that I enjoyed perusing for a while. I also made note of three other titles I’d never heard of which looked promising: The Map of Time by Felix Palma, The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen, and The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan.
Adult Interest Table
I mention these three books not only because I made note of them, but because I probably would have purchased one of them had anyone spoken to me. Employees, at least I think they were employees (It was hard to tell.), walked passed me on at least three occasions and never spoke a word or offered assistance to me. As you know, I will not make a purchase in a store unless an employee speaks to me. I didn’t even get a greeting when I walked in the door. However, two employees did walk by me to discuss the placement of more floor lamps. Speaking of, it definitely could have used a few because this store is extremely dark.
There are no used books. Only new stock, and all were regular list price. This was another turn off for me because I was desperate to find some redeeming quality. I left the store disappointed and headed across the street to Webster Wok for some cheap Chinese takeout where I was highly amused by a little old Chinese woman in some stacked wooden shoes actually chopping broccoli (Dana Carvey?) at a table right in the middle of the restaurant! I got the deep fried cashew chicken combo with soup for just $5!
In checking out this bookstore’s website, it is also a bit bare with information other than a few highlighted titles and upcoming signings. However, there is quite a rant on their Local Author page. You are going to love this. And I quote…
First, please don’t come in the shop without an appointment and expect us to drop everything. You will leave disappointed, and it marks you as unprofessional. I bet if J.K. Rowling was local and walked in without an appointment, she wouldn’t leave disappointed.
Second, as booksellers we work by seasons, and we’re usually working 2 seasons ahead. We’ve got stacks of catalogs and a million meetings with sales reps, huge stacks of advance copies to read, and thousands of books to get through. We plan events months ahead of time, and we read books months before they hit the front tables. When you bring us your book, expect a long wait time before we can get to you. It’s not personal, it’s like this for every book. How about putting down some of those books and catalogs and assisting some customers? I would suggest also cleaning up your store, but I’ll be nice since you just moved in.
Third, a traditional publisher has highly qualified and experienced editors, marketers, publicists, sales reps and accountants to keep track of it all. They invite John Stewart to parties and they beg NPR to talk about their books. And still, sometimes their books don’t sell. We cannot be expected to take on the editing, marketing, publicity and distribution for your book. It simply requires more work than we can afford to do ourselves. I saw John Stewart in the store, but he left because no one was helping him either.
Fourth, we will never carry your book if it’s priced improperly. A paperback should cost around $15, and a hardcover should cost around $25. Any more than that, and people won’t buy it. Hmm…might want to check your stock. I found lots of books priced outside these restrictions. Maybe that’s why they aren’t selling.
We will never carry your book if it has more than 1 grammatical error. We won’t carry your book if the cover is unattractive, boring, or poorly executed. Hmm…better take Koontz and King, and Twilight, off the shelf. Even traditionally published books have errors in them! And I do believe I saw some ugly books in the bunch, thank you very much. Book Cover Snobs!
Lastly…
We don’t want to hurt your feelings, or blow your expectations, or kill your dream. But we’re not your mom, and we have to run a sustainable business. This is a huge reason why agents and editors and publicists and copy editors and sales reps are so important – they manage your expectations, keep your feet in reality, and make your book better. Circumventing that entire process means we have to be the ones to break the bad news, and we hate doing that. I think I’d be more offended if I found one of my three books on their shelves after reading this remark. I hope that sustainable business works out for ya!
After coming home and reading this drivel on their website, I was even more embarrassed for this sad little store and disappointed that I even spent time visiting it today. Yes, I’m an advocate for indie bookstores but I also cheer for indie authors too. They can bring customers to your store just like any other author, but when a bookstore like this blatantly does NOT support local authors, I can’t support them either. Had I made a purchase today, I probably would have returned it after reading their website.
By the way, while I was in the store there was only one other group of customers…a mom, dad, and two children who didn’t make a purchase either. Like I said before, Webster Groves deserves a community oriented little bookshop, but this store is not it. There are other BETTER indie stores in the surrounding area, despite this one even being part of the local Indie Bookstore Alliance.
I will not be visiting this store again, and would not recommend it to others. There’s nothing here you couldn’t get somewhere else at a better price or in a better atmosphere where customers and authors are a bit more appreciated.
Rebounds is located at 110 Four Seasons Center in Chesterfield in the shopping center near Olive and 141. They are in the shopping center closer to Brunswick Bowling than the Dierbergs, and just a few doors down from the Medicine Shoppe.
The educational atmosphere of the store is very prominent with cutouts and signage hanging everywhere. Like I said, genres and subjects are clearly labeled including their price guide which I saw throughout the store making pricing on books easy to find. I learned you can even rent books here for just 50 cents a day.
