Ah, well, don't be so hard on the Irish bookshops; many American bookshops are just as dismal these days. What we need is the small shops with intelligent owners who roam the booklists. Sadly, that's uncommon and rapidly disappearing.

And then there's Amazon.com. Oh, if you're interested in other online bookshops, consider Powell's Books or Elliott Bay Books. Those are on the west coast (Oregon and Washington State), but have quirky selections.