Today, friend JT Ellison posted on her blog about the demise of bookstores around the Nashville area (please, read her post). By the sounds of things, that area isn't the only spot losing stores to the new reading culture of the ebook. While ebooks are a great way to read and carry a mass quantity of books, as well as being cost-effective with books from .99 and up, it is taking away one of the great escapes for people to walk away from this hectic world (as well as taking great jobs out from underneath an already struggling economy). Being able to go in, grab beverage, browse the racks for new titles in genres you like to read, and walk out hours later with (hopefully) or without a book that interests you... all the while, the stresses have drained from you allowing your senses to go into overdrive - to inhale the smell of newsprint, ink and photopaper; absorb the feel of matte, gloss, raised letters.
While we expect that libraries will never leave us (but with budget cuts, who really knows) and that opportunity may always be there to peruse bookshelves, supporting our local businesses is an absolute must in these times! Whether it is a mom and pop/indie, or a brick and mortar, please let us know what bookstores are important to you in your community, just follow suit on how I post at the end of my post. Help support an industry that is so very important to more people than just you or I, but a nation of readers who haven't yet been born who need to know what a quality bookstore can truly provide their readers.
B&N - Manchester/Nashua, NH
The Toadstool Bookshops - Peterborough/Milford/Keene, NH
Monday, April 18, 2011
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11 comments:
The challenge Stan is that it's impossible for bookstores to carry everything that will please everyone.
I love horror, but I am sick to death of Zombies, Werewolves, and Vampires, and yet, that's all Borders seems to know to carry in the genre. So instead I turn to the web, either Amazon or the publishers themselves and buy what I want for usually a fraction of the price of what I'd pay at a traditional brick-n-mortar shop.
Also, the online shops offer the helpful "if you liked this" technology. Try getting your cashier to look you in the eye, let alone make an educated book suggestion. Do these cashiers even read?
Book stores, like Borders, need to figure out how step it up, reduce costs and lower their prices as well as have inventory ON HAND for what people (or the majority of us) want. I will not pay full-price to order a book (that takes forever to come in mind you!) at Borders, when I can do it myself at Amazon, have it in a day, and never have to leave the comfort of my home.
This isn't to say I'm not a bookstore shopper. I love grabbing a coffee and browsing titles. However, sometimes it's more of a recon mission because I KNOW I can get it cheaper elsewhere. However, I do like the immediate gratification of walking out with a book in my hand.
When brick-n-mortar shops can no longer remain competitive, offer as solid service, and provide a positive experience with its staff, then the rule of the book store is over; case in point, Borders recent bankruptcy filing.
I hate to see them go. I hate hearing about people who lose their jobs, or seeing the large buildings that once stood proud now lie empty and desolate, but the fact of the matter is, people are trying to save money and the cheapest—and typically the first mind you—that comes to most peoples mind when wanting a book is Amazon. Period.
Although the role of bookstore as a sanctuary is something an online bookstore cannot replace, I also miss the specialty bookstore. Those small, quirky places where the owner and workers have read a majority of what's on the shelves, and can guide you to new authors whom you might never have come across any other way.
Algorithms are fine generally, but most of the recommendations from large online bookstores come from marketing plans as much as other's purchase patterns.
The personal recommendation of a human expert becomes harder and harder to find, and I feel we've all lost something of the magic of book discovery without these safe havens in the information superhighway.
Personally, shop locally first and then move to an online retailer whenever I can. I keep my eBooks for travel only (I am a Kindle user)or on those rare occasions I need the book immediately. I certainly shop on online bookstores - but I try to share the love (and sales)until the inevitable happens. And it will, based on current trends.
Amen, Rowan. The "personal touch" is what's missing today. Like I said, the art of being able to give an educated recommendation is lost on the chains like Borders.
Those quirky stores were the best and I miss them greatly. The "Wal-Marts" of the bookstores have successfully removed most of them from existence.
I do the local thing to, I love Powells, and their pricing is fair. But unfortunately, today is about saving money.
The good thing is that local bookstores such as the one in my hometown are selling Google e-books so they have all the bases covered. Personally, I still enjoy thumbing through a paperback or hardcover, but it looks like those will soon go the way of the dinosaur.
Dan, yes, these stores are very commercial. Trying to find something for everyone can be a challenge for someone like you who gets to read so much different stuff, not just what is force-fed to them. And you are right, people can only buy what they can afford, so if the community cannot afford to purchase the increased pricing of a local store in comparison to the discount rate of an Amazon or half.com, it is what it is. But it gets back to that 'Buy American' catch phrase and why we import so much. It's the continued demise of local businesses - no matter the field. How can we break this cycle? It's obvious that even with the inflated prices that Borders provided they couldn't pay their bills. One would hope that with decreased prices there would be more purchases (case in point, 2.99 ebooks sell more copies than a 4.99 or 9.99 book) but finding the balance is key as you have so gracefully hit upon. =)>
Rowan, thanks for weighing in. Yes, there are so many great green authors out there that no one knows about that rarely get seen by those algorithms you so aptly speak of (unless they get snatched up in the ebook market... but then not everyone in the ebook market prints their book).
Toby, I don't know as though books will become extinct, but will certainly slow! Who knows, they may end up becoming 'retro' and regain a surge in the market... one can only hope =)>
Thanks all for your comments! Look forward to more.
Just came upon this story about a Maine bookstore getting help from readers. Pretty cool tale.
http://bit.ly/hOWKDb
This is the way it should be... hopefully we see more of this.
I wish I knew where that grace point is, Stan. It will be a very sad day for me if my local Borders closes its doors.
Barnes and Noble was pretty smart with their nook in that you can read a book free for an hour in their stores and then download it to have for later in a matter of seconds. This covers a couple of angles, especially for people like me, who want it, but want it cheaper. Very clever.
Having said that, I still like the feel of a book in my hands and the smell of its pages, so again, where's that sweet spot?
It's no secret that reading has been on the decline for a long time now. Perhaps that's where we need to start, getting people to read again.
Book stores definitely need to come up with something else to keep people in their stores. Host book clubs, have an author series where the public can know every Tuesday for instance that a different author will be in for a signing. They could have local authors mixed with the larger ones. Look at how many authors are chomping at the bit to get into a BN for instance. These are relatively cheap ways to get people into the stores. The coffee shop idea was a good one for BN but they need to keep thinking that way. Look at how the store is set up. If you want a fantasy for instance, other than the top couple of big titles, you have to weed through a ton of spines to find something cool. I know it is all about using space most efficiently, but there has to be another way of doing it. People don't go to the bookstores because there is no reason. It isn't that they aren't buying books. So the stores need to make it fun and easy to find good stuff. They need to make me want to go there instead of pressing buy on my computer.
About the .99 ebooks that you mentioned. Over on Nathan Bransford's blog, he talks about it. It is very good information.
I've just moved last year from an area that was being beaten to heck by the economy, bookstores were closing daily. I moved down here to FuquayVarina NC July of last year and quickly found Lazy Lion Bookstore in old town. I love them, free coffee, free browsing, free conversation, free books every thursday, they love kids and allow you to bring your dog into the store, small but books galore! If the demise of the bookstores that is going around touches that store I would very much miss it.
I have a Kindle (first generation) and love it, wouldn't want to live without it but still there are some books I just have to touch and smell to read AND there's nothing like keeping a old store going especially for the owners.
Bats
FuquayVarina NC
Dan, I remember the day you said that you'd never go ebook... now look how far you've come =)>. Reading has been on the decline, whether that be from an increase in other media viewing (movies/tv, etc), a lack of time from working multiple jobs to make ends meet, or a host of other reasons. How do we balance that time - between family, friends, job, self? So many people focus on mindless entertainment (which I've been guilty of a time or two) after long days of fighting hard from start to finish. Starting a resurgence in the book-world with top-notch reads at a value people can't match is the only way we will be able to combat this mindless entertainment.
Doug, book clubs are a great idea, but my local BN has a few I've gone to and witnessed from an outside perspective and have seen that they aren't really utilized by the public. Maybe that is because there isn't enough promotion on the part of the store, or a lack of time on the part of the public, but you are lucky to see a handful of folks, 5 tops with the moderator. Regarding signings, there are so many corporate stipulations now for signings, it's rather sad. They have to be returnable and discounted (after all, if they don't make a big buck, it is a waste of time for them... general corporate standpoint in not so many words). It's amazing what authors have to go through to get in. There are a select few who have been granfathered into the system, but overall if you are trying to make it on your own it is going to be a rough run. I know this because of the event I just helped put on for literacy in my state - authors couldn't come sell their books to raise money and awareness for literacy because of those stipulations. How sad is that? Bookstores need to realize that they are a part of the community and first and foremost, be welcoming to the members of that community. Showcasing events that are community building activities (like local writer signings, like literacy events, like book clubs) and promoting them as such, will show them to be a greater value to their area than just a book seller. Oh, and I'll have to check out that post. Thanks, Doug.
Bats, thank you for providing us with a store you find worthy of keeping. It sounds like a spectacular place! Every town needs a hangout like that, not only for themselves, but for their furry best friend too.
I love my local bookstore, Page After Page in Elizabeth City, NC! They support local authors like me and they're even getting into the e-book market with Goggle e-books.
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