Starbucks is to start selling books alongside its skinny lattes, it has been announced. The coffee chain is extending its entertainment sales beyond CDs to encompass DVDs and books. The first choice of DVD has already been announced: the chain will promote Akeerah and the Bee, a low-budget movie about an American inner-city girl who aspires to win a national spelling bee contest. And we know that Starbucks' CDs tend towards the mainstream (although they also have a 'Debut series' for newer artists). So any guesses on what kinds of books they will stock?
The company itself is offering few clues. According to the chairman, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal,
"Starbucks isn't an entertainment company, but we want to have an entertainment strategy that supports the foundation of the coffee experience that our customers have come to expect and enjoy."
Right. That's cleared that up.
Without stepping into Dorian Lynskey's 'readers recommend' territory and asking for your top 10 books with coffee in the title, what do you reckon is the quintessential Starbucks book?
For my tuppenceworth, it's a novel. Definitely a novel. One you would find comfortably curled up on a squishy sofa in that 'a little bit clever ... but not too clever' territory. Certainly nothing too self-consciously clever. Upper-end Richard and Judy, say. A 'Good Read' that you wouldn't feel too embarrassed to be seen with on public transport. The Starbucks bookshelf might also hold a 'knowing' book for the boys, something Nick Hornby-esque, and possibly dip a toe into crossover fiction for the kidult caffeine-freak. They will also be 'real books' rather than impulse, by-the-till novelty books, and - if the chain's music policy is anything to go by - will be sold at full-price. Which must be a small crumb of comfort for all the independents out there, quaking at the thought of another big player coming into the market and discounting like crazy. Or could it be that I'm barking up entirely the wrong coffee tree and Starbucks are planning to tout Naomi Klein's No Logo and a selection of gift books with "crap" in the title? What do you think?
