THE EXAMINED LIFE
Ave, Victor Hugo
ON MEMORIAL DAY a local landmark -- Vincent McCaffrey and Thais Coburn's used bookstore Avenue Victor Hugo, on upper Newbury Street since 1975 -- will be shuttered forever. Available free at the store's going-out-of-business sale (and at AvenueVictorHugo.com) are copies of "The Crepuscule: Twelve Reasons for the Death of Small and Independent Bookstores," McCaffrey's lyrical jeremiad blaming the death of bookstores like his on everyone from publishers, editors, and authors to reviewers and readers. Ideas telephoned McCaffrey (pictured at right) at his bookstore.
IDEAS: What impelled you to get into the used books business in the first place? McCAFFREY: When I was a student at the experimental Mark Hopkins College in Vermont -- this was in the late `60s -- I came to Boston frequently in order to buy books for my courses. Back then there were over 50 independent bookstores here, some 30 of which sold used books, and I became addicted to browsing their shelves. I even wrote my senior thesis on "The Perfect Bookstore," which I claimed should reflect the individual bookseller's personal philosophy and love of books. After graduating, I sold books from a cart in front of the Boston Public Library for a couple of years before opening Avenue Victor Hugo with my wife Thais. Until recently, it was still possible to run the kind of place I originally had in mind -- but sadly, I no longer believe the independent bookstore is a viable business. IDEAS: Why not? How has bookselling changed since 1975? McCAFFREY: Stephen King happened, for one thing. Ideas ran a story last week on how the book isn't dead -- OK, but that doesn't mean it's healthy. When a publisher pays $3 million for the latest title by a bestselling author, there are consequences. They must produce a vast quantity of units and market them like cornflakes, so that when half of them sell they'll make a profit. Chain bookstores are given such a steep discount on new titles that independents can't compete.At the same time, mid-range authors no longer get published, and when they do there's no marketing budget left. Publishers are looking for the biggest immediate return instead of considering the future of their industry, editors are pursuing fast results and name recognition over quality writing, chain bookstores are supplying the artificial demand created by marketing departments, and readers who want convenience and discounts -- apparently they are unmoved by the delights of browsing -- shop at the chain stores. All that started to happen in the 1980s, and then along came the Internet, which I love, but which ruined me. IDEAS: Your manifesto ends by blaming the general public, which you claim doesn't read for pleasure any more. McCAFFREY: The average college graduate, studies show, reads one book a year that isn't for his or her work. These days, we live by the flickering light of "American Idol" -- we're like savages. It's uncivilized. I mean, this is Boston! Why can't we support a few good bookstores? IDEAS: So what will you do next?
McCAFFREY: I'm going to sell books -- on the Internet. It's not the same, but it gives me an excuse to keep browsing. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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