powells wtf

So, I’m a bit upset with Powell’s Books lately. They have a mountain of freakin books, a city even, yet three of the last four books that I’ve gone there looking for (actually maybe more) have been out of stock. What is particularly frustrating is that I see by the website that they are located in this warehouse or that. What are sixteen copies of Parasite Rex and ten copies of the armchair economist doing in warehouses when they are popular books that are not available in your flagship store? This trend has become more and more common there. Some books they just claim haven’t been published yet, like California Rancho Cooking, which I’d held in my hands at New Seasons and seen available at amazon.com (they stock it now, and thanks Claire for the recommendation). Isolated, these wouldn’t be significant, just a bit annoying, but together they feel a bit like a trend. Has anyone else noticed this sort of problem at Powell’s? There also is the sad transition away from book lovers for the Customer Support desks. I used to ask about a book, and the person I asked would not just know the book but chat about it, or we’d discuss some others, and I’d walk away with a few recommendations. I wonder if there is any relation to the unionization of the employees.