OP, thank you for starting this discussion. Absolutely agree with everyone above.

You should visit a few different libraries before you settle on hanging at a bookstore. Some of the libraries are beautiful and have super comfy chairs.

I’ve gone to different library branches during internet or power outages. They’re awesome. One that I go to is next to a coffeehouse, so I always get a coffee to bring in.

I don't know why this is so hard for some people. If you want to sit (for hours) to read a book without purchasing it, go to a library. That is literally their function. BookSTORES exist to sell them. Of course you can read through them for a few minutes to decide, but there really is a limit.

I’m f I’m browsing the whole time I’m there (walking around, looking at books, not just sitting somewhere), I don’t feel compelled to buy. If I go to hang out, I buy something, even if it’s a non-book item. I’ll buy coffee in the coffee shop and read my own book or work on my laptop, if I don’t want to buy a book or other item.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it’s a large chain like Barnes and noble, do whatever you want. Small/independent, make purchases.

Even large chain bookstores shouldn’t be treated as libraries. The whole point of going to a bookstore is to get a new book. Buyers don’t want to pay for a nes book and get a used book. You can read the jacket/back cover, flip through it a bit, maybe read the first page or so to get a feel for the author’s style, but the goal is to decide whether or not it’s something you want to read before you buy it. If you want to just sit and read, without buying the material, go to a library.

If you want to read in a coffeeshop attached to a bookstore (Starbucks and Barnes and Noble), I think you can read anything that you provide (personal book, library book, kindle, etc.).

My kids reads the first chapter before deciding what book they want. There is an area in everyBarnes and noble for kids to sit and read. They know that if they ban it, people will just pay twenty or thirty percent less and get the book on Amazon.

Anonymous wrote:Use your noggin. If you sit and read without buying, then the bookstore will get no revenue and will close.

This. Go to the library.

Anonymous wrote:If it’s a large chain like Barnes and noble, do whatever you want. Small/independent, make purchases.

Barnes and Noble did well during the pandemic because people started buying books to read. But before that, stores were closing. You can hang out at BN for hours, they're big stores. You should also buy the books, if you read them.

Anonymous wrote:If it’s a large chain like Barnes and noble, do whatever you want. Small/independent, make purchases.

Even large chain bookstores shouldn’t be treated as libraries. The whole point of going to a bookstore is to get a new book. Buyers don’t want to pay for a nes book and get a used book. You can read the jacket/back cover, flip through it a bit, maybe read the first page or so to get a feel for the author’s style, but the goal is to decide whether or not it’s something you want to read before you buy it. If you want to just sit and read, without buying the material, go to a library.

If you want to read in a coffeeshop attached to a bookstore (Starbucks and Barnes and Noble), I think you can read anything that you provide (personal book, library book, kindle, etc.).

If it’s a large chain like Barnes and noble, do whatever you want. Small/independent, make purchases.

A bookstore is for purchasing books.
You can sit and read a book for free at a library.

What kind? If it's a small, independently owned business the etiquette is to always be sure your purchase covers the time you spend taking up a seat. I wouldn't read in the store "for hours" unless I bought the book there as well as food and drink. I would also never spend more than 10-15 minutes with a book anywhere in the store unless I intended to buy it/had bought it (it's not a library).

But if we are talking about a Barnes and Noble with a Starbucks attached, I think that's different. I wouldn't treat it like a library but long browses are ok. I think most places expect you to buy at least a drink before you take up a seat in the cafe, but I wouldn't worry about how much I spent/how long I sat there. I would totally bring a book I bought elsewhere to the Barnes and Noble Starbucks.

By sit and read, do you mean a book you took off the shelf? That's obviously a no. If you're in the coffee shop and buy a beverage and read your own book, then that's fine.

Use your noggin. If you sit and read without buying, then the bookstore will get no revenue and will close.

You can sit if there's a chair in the bookshop and read but you shouldn't go into the coffee shop to read unless you've bought the book in hand, really.

I’ve always wanted to visit a coffee shop bookstore but I can’t get the gist of what one is supposed to do. It seems people frequent bookstores but not everyone buys books, some read in the store for hours. What’s the true etiquette?