The bookshop is narrow enough that two customers can create a traffic problem simply by browsing opposite shelves.
There is no algorithm. There is Maria, who has read most of the books on the front table and has opinions about the rest.
Ask for a mystery and she will ask whether you want clever, dark, funny, or the sort that keeps you awake because you made the mistake of reading one more chapter.
The shop survives partly because it sells books and partly because it remembers people. A customer comes in for a birthday gift and leaves with a novel Maria says he should have read ten years ago.
Independent bookshops make recommendation feel personal again. They also make browsing inefficient in the best possible way.
You enter looking for one title and leave carrying three, plus a note with another author written on it in blue pen. Main Street is better for having a place like that in it.
Discussion
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