If B&N goes under, my city of 400,000 people will have lost its last bookstore. Think about that for a second, we really are going into a barbarian age.
“Think about that for a second, we really are going into a barbarian age.”
It’s a twenty mile drive to the edge of the closest city and another 10 to a bookstore. I order on Amazon and have it delivered to my door. Also, there’s a library nearby. Although it’s small, I can order any book in the system.
Our biggest chance for turning into barbarians is if EMP wipes out our electronics and nobody has real hard copy books. I can imagine that coming as hard copies will continue to get more expensive.
Come to think of it, I have had digital copies of all of the Shadow and Doc Savage novels since 1998. Used to read those on a desktop computer in the living room.
I never have to pick which book to take on vacation. I take them all.
Well actually, removing B&N would allow small locally-owned bookstores to once again exist and thrive, offering better service and prices to customers and investing more back into the community. You should welcome their demise.
“Physical bookstores the world over face fearsome challenges from online and digital.”
False. Physical bookstores face fearsome challenges from internal management issues that reject traditional families, Western churches and quality printing.
My last visit to Barnes and Noble in Emeryville was many years ago when I saw a section glorifying people afflicted with temporary, same sex attraction. I walked out with disgust. Burn it down.
There was a B&N near me that I patronized. It was huge, had an excellent selection, browsing areas, and a good music room. It was always busy, and was something of a social hangout.
It was the last brick book store that I supported with my cash. If they did not have it in stock, they ordered it.
I was genuinely shocked when I saw their Closing Soon sign. It closed on December 31st years ago.
What happened on January 1st? Obamacare took effect.
I can have nearly any book I want delivered in a day or two by Amazon, including out-of-print and used volumes. I can also choose from thousands of eBooks, downloaded instantly to my devices. I haven’t been in a B&N for a couple years, but the last time I went, it was depressing—a terrible selection and more expensive by far than online.
Barbarian age? More like a Golden Age for readers.
If B&N, like Borders, hadn’t turned bookstores into amusement parks, we’d still have decent bookstores.