I’m watching Skull Face Bookseller Honda-san / Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san on VRV / Crunchyroll. It’s a slice-of-life anime, with some comedy sprinkled in. I love bookstores, so I find it fascinating hearing the intricacies of day-to-day affairs. If you work at a bookstore, and you’re reading this, I’d be curious to know your thoughts on the show and if it paints an accurate description (minus the obvious absurdities). Given the option, I prefer traditional books, but I know e-books are better for the environment. While I have my own preference, it seems the customer Honda-san was helping was very passionate in his disdain for e-books.

The show also talked about the life cycle of books. How much logistics go into new books, and rotating older books, and returning stock to the publisher if they aren’t selling.

It also talked about revived books. Books that may be out of print, but due to renewed interest, they may do reprints. The example below was sobering, considering the current state of the COVID pandemic.

For as much reading as people seemed to have done on the topic, you would think they’d be more aware of common sense practices, but alas, sometimes common sense isn’t that common. And on that note, I can empathize from my years of retail work, why Honda-san would feel the way he does in the scene below.