So, I went to Amazon Books…

Amazon’s new physical book store is all the buzz right now… at least in most of the places I hang out online. Being a Seattle-ite (ish), I was about ready to jump in the car as soon as I heard it was open. Instead, I waited a couple days. And that was a good decision – no freakishly long lines like I heard about on opening day.

It was still crowded inside and the atmosphere was warm and exciting. I’m sure that’s only natural, though, given all the buzz and newness of it. But overall, it was a fun experience and I’m looking forward to going back.

Oh, and on a side note, I took all these pictures with my Kindle Fire. I only thought that would be fitting.

See, no crazy lines. Hey, no rain, either. But it was pouring before. It is Seattle.

See? Rain on the windshield… (That was after the previously mentioned downpour.)

Anyway, you didn’t come here to read about rain. Back to Amazon Books. And the buzz.

This bookstore is different from the rest.

It’s meant to mimic the online experience. Some people didn’t like it, but I found it cool. I liked the reviews on the shelves. Well, the review on each book along with the overall star rating.

And to make sure Goodreads doesn’t feel left out:

What about prices? Amazon’s prices always fluctuate. And they want to have the lowest prices, so what happens in their physical store? No fear…

And what about paying cash? We confirmed this at the register. No cash accepted. The Amazon Books experience is as close to online shopping as possible.

Don’t want to check your phone to see what something costs? No problem. There are plenty of these:

What else is different?

Almost no spines face out. You get to see the cover of every item. Well, the ones for sale. There are a bunch of spines out near the ceiling, but from what I could tell, they were only for decoration.

And that’s not the only place they decorated. Their enormous kids’ section has some nice paintings to gaze at.

And speaking of fun for kids, mine can’t wait to return. They asked to come back every week. Aside from books, kids can play with Kindle tablets all over the store and even play games on the Amazon Fire TV.

Do you have questions? Amazon has Answers!

Or do you have ideas? Jot them down. Or tell someone. They’ll write it on a sticky note. Or at least they did for us. (And I’m sure that had nothing to do with my husband telling the guy that I’m a popular local indie on Amazon…)

I played a little while I was there, too… First, I tried adding my books to their kindles. A girl can try, right? It showed a few, but no downloads.

Then I pretended to find my book on their shelves.

Oh, don’t forget your Wish List…

And some things they didn’t have.

• No POD (Print On Demand) Kiosk
• QR Codes to purchase ebooks online

Have you been to Amazon Books? What did you think? Do you want to go?