Schuler Books Grand Rapids MI

I wanted to take a second to say that we really enjoyed a quick stop in to Schuler Books in Grand Rapids Michigan on our recent road trip.

The place is huge, and I suspect the building might have housed another larger chain bookstore before.  It had that kind of feel.

We found some great books and just enjoyed looking around the place.

I was exceptionally impressed with the fact that they had an "Espresso Book Machine".  I know I have read about these before, but there was something special about standing right next to one.

Roughly, the Espresso Book Machine can print off a book in just a few minutes.  It is directed toward independent publishers who might not expect to sell tons of copies.  Schuler's Books seemed to be utilizing it for very niche small demand publications.  They had flyers detailing the arrangement that an author could get if they wanted to set up and publish with the Espresso Book Machine. 

I personally get pretty excited about small print, obscure titles that you have to hunt for to find.  I'm not a fan of the e-readers either and I love being surrounded by actual books..... so I like what they are doing with this.