I have opinions about book stores
Jan. 2nd, 2011 02:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iliketeaA couple of days ago I went off to Chapters for some stupid reason or another. (The reason was stupid because I didn't have any money, my Chapters giftcards were at home, and I try to avoid buying at Chapters because I like my local indy bookstore and prefer to support them. But every year my parents get me a Chapters giftcard for my birthday and it would be churlish to refuse.)
Oh, right, there was coffee.
Anyway, I was in Chapters and I am now 100% certain the the days of brick & mortar bookstores are nearly done. Chapters, despite being this huge bookstore... didn't have that many books. The whole big box was dominated by gift-ware (you know the type), fancy paper and pens, yoga mats, children's toys, pretty things. But the books were all shoved off into one section, the history section has been destroyed... it was just... tear-worthy, really.
I understand why these things happen. The oldest bookstore in Canada closed a few years ago, and it wasn't Chapters that put it out of business. It was Amazon. A few years before that some clever person went on about how Amazon would take over the world if they ever discovered a way of getting books into your hands pretty much immediately. And now with eBook readers become far less expensive ($130 for a Kindle!) and eBooks becoming ubiquitous.... Well, I think the age of big box stores like Chapters are going to end.
I think the surviving indie book stores will be okay, though. People like me, who shop in these things, aren't doing it because we secretly want eBooks but haven't gotten around to it yet. People who want their books cheaper or faster are already going to Chapters or ordering through Amazon. I like my indie bookstore because I go in there and they go "Oh, we've missed you! Let me tell you about the six new books we think you should buy because when they came in we thought of you!"
Ah well. I am sad. But life goes on, as the cool kids say.
Oh, right, there was coffee.
Anyway, I was in Chapters and I am now 100% certain the the days of brick & mortar bookstores are nearly done. Chapters, despite being this huge bookstore... didn't have that many books. The whole big box was dominated by gift-ware (you know the type), fancy paper and pens, yoga mats, children's toys, pretty things. But the books were all shoved off into one section, the history section has been destroyed... it was just... tear-worthy, really.
I understand why these things happen. The oldest bookstore in Canada closed a few years ago, and it wasn't Chapters that put it out of business. It was Amazon. A few years before that some clever person went on about how Amazon would take over the world if they ever discovered a way of getting books into your hands pretty much immediately. And now with eBook readers become far less expensive ($130 for a Kindle!) and eBooks becoming ubiquitous.... Well, I think the age of big box stores like Chapters are going to end.
I think the surviving indie book stores will be okay, though. People like me, who shop in these things, aren't doing it because we secretly want eBooks but haven't gotten around to it yet. People who want their books cheaper or faster are already going to Chapters or ordering through Amazon. I like my indie bookstore because I go in there and they go "Oh, we've missed you! Let me tell you about the six new books we think you should buy because when they came in we thought of you!"
Ah well. I am sad. But life goes on, as the cool kids say.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-03 08:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-03 12:44 pm (UTC)