Bargain Hunting for Books Destroying the Industry?
Wow, this is a sobering article about how our book buying habits are bringing down bookstores and publishers. From the NY Times:
Book publishers and booksellers are full of foreboding — even more than usual for an industry that’s been anticipating its demise since the advent of television. The holiday season that just ended is likely to have been one of the worst in decades. Publishers have been cutting back and laying off. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced that it wouldn’t be acquiring any new manuscripts, a move akin to a butcher shop proclaiming it had stopped ordering fresh meat.
Bookstores, both new and secondhand, are faltering as well. Olsson’s, the leading independent chain in Washington, went bankrupt and shut down in September. Robin’s, which says it is the oldest bookstore in Philadelphia, will close next month. The once-mighty Borders chain is on the rocks. Powell’s, the huge store in Portland, Ore., said sales were so weak it was encouraging its staff to take unpaid sabbaticals.
Read full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/weekinreview/28streitfeld.html?pagewan...
Ms. Lesser is the publisher of The Threepenny Review, a literary journal. She lives in Berkeley, Calif., where, as it happens, there is no longer a large general interest bookstore. Cody’s, in its prime one of the country’s great stores, closed its last outlet in June. The Barnes & Noble store there also recently closed.
This blows my mind. You can't keep Cody's >or< the flippin' Barnes & Noble open in Berkeley? Not even one of them?
I associate Berkeley with UC Berkeley and with the cultural revolution (Haight-Ashbury madness) and with smart older hippies who may have graduated from the disillusionment of that cultural bubble to achieve a place where they smoke less pot and read more books, because it's actually better for your brain.
So much for my pretty illusion.
The Barnes&Noble here in Lexington, Kentucky appears to be doing fine, and was bursting with last-minute Christmas shoppers just a week ago. The parking lot there is still crowded at closing time.
Maybe this is Kentucky falling behind the curve of national trends, except in a good way.
The article is a definite message that if you want a good local bookstore where you can browse and put your hands on things, then you'd better do some of your actual buying there. A great argument for your general 'buy local' position, Mirka.
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I saw Chuck Palahniuk at Codys TWICE! It's heartbreaking, truly. We have two Borders in Oakland that are doing fine. That's the weird thing. Codys moved off off Telegraph to another location on 4th street and it just didn't survive. On Telegraph there was a ton of foot traffic because of the University. The location of 4th street has parking issues and is more an eating destination.
You were right, so I updated the title.
Books should be built to self-destruct. Just when you think to sell it online for a quarter, it should turn into raw pulp or get taken over by an aggressive black mold. Then the law would require that you go out and bury it under a tree and give thanks.
VP - Workshop Dog
I would cry if Barnes & Noble went out of business. It's my favorite store. I can spend hours in the four-story B&N in Union Square.
I've been there! We had a NY meet up there, before your time unfotunately. Were you at Chuck's reading for Haunted because if so, we were in the same room!
No, not for Haunted. I went to his reading for Rant. You should have come to the NY meetup DURING my time. BOOOOOOOO!
I tried, but stuff happens. Maybe for the next one!
This blows my mind. You can't keep Cody's >or< the flippin' Barnes & Noble open in Berkeley? Not even one of them?
I associate Berkeley with UC Berkeley and with the cultural revolution (Haight-Ashbury madness) and with smart older hippies who may have graduated from the disillusionment of that cultural bubble to achieve a place where they smoke less pot and read more books, because it's actually better for your brain.
So much for my pretty illusion.
The Barnes&Noble here in Lexington, Kentucky appears to be doing fine, and was bursting with last-minute Christmas shoppers just a week ago. The parking lot there is still crowded at closing time.
Maybe this is Kentucky falling behind the curve of national trends, except in a good way.
The article is a definite message that if you want a good local bookstore where you can browse and put your hands on things, then you'd better do some of your actual buying there. A great argument for your general 'buy local' position, Mirka.
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VP - Workshop Dog