No. Nothing has changed. Any Christian Bookstore that isn't indpendently owned is affiliated and will only stock affiliated books (books produced by CBA and/or ECPA affiliated publishers or at least this has been my experience.) Independent Christian bookstores can order whatever their readers want! :)
How cool is that!
Thanks Steve at Manny's and thanks Dub for letting me know about Manny's.
When you visit Steve, ask him how the name Manny's came into being. It's a neat story.
And tell Steve I said hey. :)
Addendum: My bad. Some independent Christian bookstores are actually affiliated so you actually have to ask each Christian bookstore if you want to know whether they'll have the kind of fiction you're looking for. :)
2 comments:
Looked great, so I mapquested Manny's.
Total Estimated Distance: 2653.38 miles
Total Estimated Time: 39 hours 48 minutes
(I assume this doesn't include eating, sleeping, or potty breaks. "Yo! Pass me the that thar cup. I ain't stopping to pee!")
Total Estimated Fuel Cost: $179.85
(Have no idea what price gas they used to calculate this, but that estimate looks really low.) Oh, and that's just getting there. Double all that to get back home again.
But that is probably how far I'd have to go to find a Christian Bookstore that had more books than CDs, Veggie Tales toys, and Jesus paperweights. Here, they're rather like Hallmark with a small romance section. They even took the word "book" out of their business name and don't pretend to be bookstores anymore. I won't even drive five minutes for the kind we have here. Not worth it. Gimme B&N any day.
Well technically, gifstops, Bible and Sunday School material providers for conservative evangelicals was all Christian Bookstores were supposed to be. Then in 1950 a group of booksellers and retailers decided they might like to provide those that shop there with fiction their readers might like.
Keep in mind, they weren't interested in providing good fiction for all Christians. Just fiction their shoppers might like.
But you're right. The bigger booksellers rock because they carry good fiction that appeals to all Christians. Unfortunately CBA/ECPA fiction is cropping up in the most unlikely places, mixed in with general market books in the bigger booksellers stores.
What is that about?
Niether CBA or ECPA have ever written books for the general market? I stand in awe everytime I see a one of these niche market books gracing the general market shelf.
Tell me again, why do we have genres?
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