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E-PrinceFor the past two years, going to the U-Store every term to buy my books was a distinct pleasure and therefore an excellent way to spend hundreds of dollars I had to spend anyway. There, I picked my books lovingly ...(back to the article)
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Having been a Columbia undergrad decades ago, I knew what the original Labyrinth in Morningside Heights was like. It was crowded, cruddy, but it had substance, was no nonsense and was a very serious place. I do remember very well the lines getting course texts. And while that was all very annoying, we all knew also that Labyrinth was quite possibly the finest academic bookstore in the NY Metro area back then and one of a handful of excellent scholarly bookstores (the other really good one being possibly in Hyde Park). Even now, Book Culture (the successor organization to the old Labyrinth) enjoys a pride of place among academic bookstores.
I sympathize with the author here, but Labyrinth's offerings are several quantum leaps above that of the U-Store and Micawber. Bringing Labyrinth to Princeton was definitely a change for the better.
Also being a bibliophile, everytime I go to Lab, I ask, "can I please go back there to browse the books?" And everytime, a woman or man answers, "Of course, feel free." That said, Amazon is certainly a top notch alternative.
I skipped going to labyrinth altogether and just went on their site, saw what books were required for what course, and bought them online. the main problem with this, is that they only posted the textbooks online the first day of class, which doesn't allow enough time for books ordered online to arrive in time to do the reading for the first precept. If they would just post the course lists a week or two earlier, I would be satisfied.
I guess my response is that it really ain't that bad. I found the textbook people at Labyrinth to be courteous and surprisingly informed-- they even knew what subject a random philosophy course number was about. While their textbook system is less than ideal, their selection of academic books is outstanding and far, far beyond what the U-Store offered. Also, the logistics of where you have to go to get your course materials really has not changed-- previously it was University Place (for U-Store and Pequod) and Nassau Street (Micawber, for some class texts), and now it's University Place (Pequod) and Nassau Street (Labyrinth). No change there. You make a good point about discounts, though.