Published in the April 21, 2017 edition.
By GAIL LOWE
LYNNFIELD — Before Tuesday, April 18, anyone who Googled “bookstores in Lynnfield” would have been out of luck. There simply weren’t any.
But on that day, the new brick and mortar Amazonbooks opened at MarketStreet a stone’s throw from the Gaslight restaurant. The Lynnfield store is the second on the East Coast to have opened since the first store, in Dedham, launched in November 2015.
Jonathan Berry has been appointed store manager, and a staff of 10 will be on hand to help shoppers find that special book.
Every inch of the 4,200 square foot space is laid out to entice book lovers to reach into their wallets. There’s literally something for everyone — technology devotees, cooks, the devout, fiction and non-fiction lovers and children. There are also self-help books, coffee table books and books on gardening.
All this, in addition to a section dedicated to devices such as Kindle, Fire TV, Fire tablets and Echo. For the uninitiated, patrons are invited to “test drive” these products during five-minute classes on Saturdays and Sundays. Other possible classes are in the works, and management is open to suggestions.
Deborah Bass, public relations manager for the book division, said what is unique about Amazonbooks is how titles are chosen.
“There are 3,600 titles in this store,” Bass said. “We base our choices on best-sellers, customer rankings and reviews on online sites such as goodreads.com. We also have a team of curators who choose the books.” Goodreads.com is owned by Amazon.
In addition, Amazon.com editors scour the Internet for new releases.
Another feature unique to Amazonbooks is how the books are displayed. Instead of book bindings facing customers, all the books face out, making for a colorful, enchanting display.
“The books speak to you,” said Bass, adding that reviews are posted below the books, as well as star ratings and information about any awards the books have received.
Seattle, Wash. native Jeff Bezos launched amazon.com as an online bookstore more than 20 years ago and today it is the ninth highest company in terms of number of employees. Today, there are brick and mortar stores in Seattle; San Diego, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Dedham, Mass.; Chicago, Ill. and now Lynnfield.
Later this year, five other stores will open in Walnut Creek and Santa Clara, Calif.; 34th St. and Columbus Circle in New York City and Paramus, N.J.
“When you shop at Amazonbooks, it’s like Amazon.com come to life,” said Bass.
“The town of Lynnfield is filled with passionate book lovers, but there was no bookstore. Amazonbooks is a good fit. We want to help people discover great books,” she said.
Amazonbooks is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. All major credit cards, cash and checks accepted.
