The Neat Bookstore

I was visiting a few book stores in Brunei to search for a self-improvement book. So I visited this probably most popular Bookstore 'X' that has been in the business for at least 10 years. They have a lot of business books as well as self-improvement books and every single one is wrapped up in transparent plastic.

So basically, any prospective buyer will need to ask the shopkeeper to open the plastic in order to browse through. I gave 3 books to the shopkeeper to have it opened. Then I found more books which are of interest, but I fear I might be offending the shopkeeper if I carry on asking her to open it. So I left and went to other bookstores hoping to find a store which I can browse easily. However other stores do not have as much choices as Bookstore 'X'. These stores have only few books which were wrapped up in plastics.

When we buy a story book, we read the back cover page for the story line. Browsing the pages of story books are not really necessary. For self-improvement books, management or business books we normally have to browse through the pages to see how the teachings are conveyed. Moreover the back cover page of self-improvement books normally only shows the comment of book magazines (or famous people). Reviews like "This is a must-have book for first-time blah blah... - Timeline magazine". So we do really need to browse the pages not just for the content, but also the topics covered.

Having no other choice, I went back to Bookstore 'X' the next day. On entering the shop, I saw the shopkeeper wrapping more books. Then I started my hunting once again. Took three books to the lady shopkeeper to have it opened and at the same time, asked her the reason for wrapping. She replied saying it's because some customers requested books like this to be neat and clean. They only have a single copy for some books and they need to keep it in good condition. I did not furthur my conversation as her reply tone was rude.

Bookstores I visited in other countries hardly wrap their books, and I see no real benefit in wrapping them. Anyway I feel I had conveyed my message to them. Let's keep this in mind: Mind your own business.