New Experience: Book Vending Machine

As I said in my previous blog post, yesterday I paid a visit to the Northwest African American Museum, which is a really cool museum about the History, Culture and Art of African Americans in the Northwest. As in most American museums, it has a gift shop close to its exit, and it was there that I saw something that I had never seen before: a book vending machine. Everybody is used to vending machines everywhere in the US, selling drinks and snacks, but this was the first time I saw one that sold books. It looks pretty similar to the regular vending machines, and operates just the same: type the number of the book you want, pay with credit card or a smartphone, and the machine drops the book at a compartment at the bottom. In this case, this machine was dedicated to books and comic books from Pacific Northwest African American authors, with a focus on Science Fiction and Fantasy. I bought "Parable of the Sower", which is a book I had heard about before, and it seems to be really good. I wish there were more of these machines around!




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