http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/books/22target.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

          This is so crazy that this is the first story I came across today.  Only an hour before typing this I was standing in the bookstore at Target and wonder to myself, were this books bestsellers before they landed on the Target shelves or are the best sellers because Target picked them up.

          The article definately proves that Target is making quite the impack on the book world.   It seems like plenty of books would have done just fine on their own but tons were able to do well because Target maked them for their bookseller club.   It is a good thing that so many authors are able to get exposure to their books that otherwise they would not.

          One thing I absolutely loved about this article was learning that it is actually a panel of Target employees that decide which books are choosen.  It isn’t some publisher paying big bucks or anything like that. It seems so organic to have the type of people that would be shopping there and reading them decide which books they see fit to sell to the public.   It adds a personal touch.  It is like when I go to Powell’s books in Portland I can’t help but walk by the employee picks.  There is a music store in Portland too (sorry I’m spacing out on the name) that had employees pick their favorite and write little blurbs about them.  I’ve bought a few cds just because the person that wrote that made it sound good.

          I think Target is a great place to be bringing such a great variety of books.  It really is the kind of place that you go there for anything and everything.  When I walk by the books at other chains stores it seems like mostly all they have is best sellers and mass market series.  It is nice to see a store giving so much thought to what they put out and allowing there to be a huge variety.   People that might not otherwise go to a bookstore are able to find truly good books regardless of how popular they are.  I know Target was who introduced me to Kyra Davis who is now one of my favorite writers.

          What do you think of Target’s book section?   Have you bought books there?