Bookstores, Lack Thereof

I'm sorry to inform you that you are correct in your statement about the vast majority of Dominicans not reading.

Check out any of the threads on this board concerning education and you will better comprehend what I'm saying.

I would not recommend opening a book store here...under any circumstances.

Scandall

Reading in Latin America-

Is Librer?a Cuesta in SD no longer an option? In my opinion if you are looking for a bookstore comparable to Barnes and Noble or Borders in the USA, Librer?a Cuesta is the best option.

Now regarding your statement about the populace and reading you are tapping into a bigger problem in Dominican society and Latin American society as a whole. The current and past state of education has a direct correlation to whether or not Dominicans read or have the desire to read. Please consider the following:

> the literacy rate in the DR (notice how I stated the literacy rate and not the illiteracy rate) What % of the population can truly read? That number will surprise you.

> consider the % of students that graduate from public school which is where the majority of the population of students go for education

> consider the % of students that actually attend school either on a regular basis or at all. (You may want to do a study on 'la deserci?n escolar en la RD'. The numbers will tell the tale)

> accessibility to literature meaning public libraries and the costs of books. In societies like the DR where disposable income is a problem for many spending money on books is not a priority. As well, the prices are considered too high for the average local and reasonable and sometimes even cheap for foreigners

> In general reading is problem in Latin America for the same reasons mentioned above in the DR. Only a small segment of the population has accessibility to literature and traditionally reading is promoted through proper education. Without a proper education that benefits all segments of the population reading will continue to be a problem in the DR. It?s a sad state of affairs.

Libreria Cuesta


-LDG.

Please open a bookstore in SDQ with branches elsewhere like STI and the northern beaches.
It doesn't have to be a big footprint like B&N or Borders.
There was one in San Jose CR that thrived. Some of us, like me, would drive two hours once a week to go there and overpay for books plus pick up books and periodicals for friends and neighbors. I doubt if it was 1500 square feet. It was mostly English with a good selection of French and German and, of course, Spanish. It was run by expats.
I think people in the DR read -- not just expats and travelers dozing by the pool.
I'll invest in the darn thing if someone wants to run it.

Both Cuesta and Thesaurus are good bookshops, but only for Spanish titles. They both have small English sections but these leave a lot to be desired. New Horizons (branches on Av. Sarasota and in Bella Vista Mall) is a little better, but still not that great IMO. The books are expensive and I've rarely seen something I'd consider buying.
Book lovers like the OP should check out the Helen Kellogg Library behind the Anglican Church on Independencia, just before the intersection with Danae (if you haven't already).

Is that library by the Episcopal Church private? Like the kind you pay to join - maybe they used to call them a lending library?
Is it across the street from the Commie Party HQ with the big picture of Che?

Everett said:

Please open a bookstore in SDQ with branches elsewhere like STI and the northern beaches.
It doesn't have to be a big footprint like B&N or Borders.
There was one in San Jose CR that thrived. Some of us, like me, would drive two hours once a week to go there and overpay for books plus pick up books and periodicals for friends and neighbors. I doubt if it was 1500 square feet. It was mostly English with a good selection of French and German and, of course, Spanish. It was run by expats.
I think people in the DR read -- not just expats and travelers dozing by the pool.
I'll invest in the darn thing if someone wants to run it.

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I wish someone would take up your offer. However, I fear that the shipping costs combined with taxes might make it unprofitable. The high retail prices of imported books in the DR's existing bookshops are testament to that.

Another possibility would be a second-hand bookshop. You wouldn't have to invest so much money in stock but once you built up a decent collection the profit margins, if any, would still be minimal.

It would have to be a labour of love more than anything!

Everett said:

Is that library by the Episcopal Church private? Like the kind you pay to join - maybe they used to call them a lending library?
Is it across the street from the Commie Party HQ with the big picture of Che?

Click to expand...

Yes, that's the one. It's actually autonomous from the church, run by volunteers and you pay RD$400 or so to join. They hold second hand book sales on the first Sunday of every month (today, for example).

Well it may just become a labor of love. Perhaps this is a question best sent over the gurus on the business board of DR1.
Second hand might not be such a bad idea.
I know where to get, literally, thousands of slightly used second hand hardbacks in the US. Cost is about $1 per book. Most of them are first editions and not those things with the covers torn off either.
If anyone is interested pm me.
Don't some of us just love a good bookstore and can spend a rainy afternoon browsing with a nice coffee?
And thanks for the info on the lending library by the Episcopal Church. I will stop by one of these days. The Commie joint across the street is so interesting to look at I have never noticed what else is in the neighborhood except the Epsicopal Seminary.
Strange neighbors eh?

I think Cuesta had a pretty good selection, of Spanish titles. But it's not really remarkable that their English section is somewhat unimpressive, is it? I did not think it was really a lot worse than the English section in big bookstores in Madrid or Paris, or indeed the French section of your general bookstore in the US...

Everett said:

Please open a bookstore in SDQ with branches elsewhere like STI and the northern beaches.
It doesn't have to be a big footprint like B&N or Borders.
There was one in San Jose CR that thrived. Some of us, like me, would drive two hours once a week to go there and overpay for books plus pick up books and periodicals for friends and neighbors. I doubt if it was 1500 square feet. It was mostly English with a good selection of French and German and, of course, Spanish. It was run by expats.
I think people in the DR read -- not just expats and travelers dozing by the pool.
I'll invest in the darn thing if someone wants to run it.

Click to expand...

a lifelong dream, dayfream really, of mine is to own/run a used bookstore. if i thought we could actually make a living wage with this i'd offer to run it for you. i have the equivilant of a small bookstore worth of paperbacks in my home just for personal use:surprised

Since I am still so new with all this, what book did you refer when you said, "inevitably -- that book written about growing up with Lionel!" Was that The Feast of the Goat?
Thanks
Sheri

Spanish Phrase Book

The first time i went to D/R i could not get a Spanish Phrase book in NAGUA maybe a good idea my 2 cents worth

So you want to open a book store. Read this gem.

Rick

I posted the wrong information about the Helen Kellogg Library monthly booksale. They take place on the first Saturday of the month, not the first Sunday, as I found out when researching this new entry for my blog, which covers all you ever needed to know about Santo Domingo's English language library.

Chirimoya said:

as I found out when researching this new entry for my blog, .

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Shameless blog plug...

Scandall

Scandall said:

Shameless blog plug...

Scandall

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Shameless Mang? Minute plug...:cheeky: