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| What the Book? Goes Digital | |||
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 ‘What the Book?’ in Itaewon is a new and used bookstore that will go online in mid- April. Customers enjoy complimentary coffee and espresso drinks. By Lisa Hanson Contributing Writer What is black and white and discounted all over? If you guessed broken down zebras on sale at the zoo, you are wrong. If your guess was prison uniforms from the days of old, wrong again. If you were thinking about old movies shot on film long before the video or digital cameras, well, at least your response is not as outlandish as the other two possible answers. Objects that neatly and aptly fit this description are the new and used books at What About the Book? bookstore in Itaewon, where used items are about one-third the cost of new items at Seoul's larger bookstores and even new items are amply cheaper than what you can find at the bigger outlets. Chris Chiavetta and Yoo Hye-lim started the store in July last year, and Chiavetta isn't shy about showing you how good his prices are. ''All the other book stores here are a rip off,'' Chiavetta said, pulling a brand new paperback copy of Bill Bryson's ''A Short History of Nearly Everything,'' from his shelves and readying his computer for an Internet search. ''A Short history of Nearly Everything,'' a book wide enough to keep you pontificating for at least a month, or a few weeks if you are unencumbered by a fulltime job, is 35,410 won including a 10 percent discount at Kyobo. At What the Book?, Bryson's book costs 33,300 won. A used copy of any of Stephen King's myriad of titles is about 4,000 won. In one of Seoul's larger stores that sell English books, prices for King's works range between 11,000 won and 15,000 won. What the Book? houses 20,000 titles, which include used copies of fiction, nonfiction and science fiction works. Bookshelves are tightly packed and smartly organized according to genre. In the front of the store, visitors will find ''Lolita'' by Vladimir Nabokov for 15,800 won and Eric Schlosser's ''Fast Food Nation'' for 19,300 won next to Lonely Planet and Let's Go travel guides. A few paces into the store and customers can find used books fit for an academic or a leisure reader. Books on Buddhism, feminism and literature line the back of the store. In a few weeks, What the Book? offerings will extend off the shelves, when Chiavetta and Yoo launch an online site with a supply of one million books. A Korean version of Amazon.com is the kind of service that devout What the Book? customer Paul Matthews would not have any qualms about. Matthews, who usually is weary about conveying credit card details on the Internet, has built up a rapport with the bookstore. ''I know what it is and I know who runs it, and I feel safe about giving out details like that,'' Matthews said. It could be the living room-style atmosphere, the free coffee and americanos, or it could be that Chiavetta tends to know his customers' tastes, but Mathews says his dedication to What the Book? is ''an issue of trust.'' ''He remembers the kind of books I like,'' Matthews said. ''He recommends things to me and I'm able to order the things I like with no extra ordering or shipping costs.'' When the bookstore goes online in mid-April, customers will have three delivery options. ''Customers can have the books delivered to their homes or place of business, or they can choose in-store pick-up,'' Chiavetta said.
03-30-2004 20:43 | ||
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