Book Stores.....fading away

[Rich Riddle]

We went to Barnes and Noble tonight to look for a few books. Every book my wife asked about was greeted by the attendant with the response, "We don't have that title but can order it in for you." At a highly inflated price compared to the Internet of course. There was a coffee shop inside the bookstore that seemed busier than the store. For the record, they absolutely no woodworking books of any sort. They did have Fine Woodworking magazine. I am not certain how they stay open with high prices and no selection.

[Brian Henderson]

Physical books are largely a dying breed. I haven't bought one in years. I haven't subscribed to a magazine in years either. It's just not worth it. B&N is barely hanging on with Amazon ruling the roost. I say good riddance to them.

[Bruce Page]

I read 2-3 books a month. I haven't read a paper book in over 5 years.
I still read several magazines a month.

[Erik Loza]

We have a local book store, Book People, that has succeeded and is thriving because they have a great local book section and also, there seems to always be a published author having a signing or lecture there. Like, 2-3 per week. They have created a niche that the big retail places and amazon can't exploit.

Erik

[Richard McComas]

Amazon recently opened a brick and mortar store in Settle.


http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...ore-in-seattle

[David Helm]

I guess I am old hat. I read 4 to 5 books per month and they are all real books. Can't wrap my head around ebooks. Don't buy them from Amazon or Costco. Amazon and Costco get special deals from the publishers that independent bookstores cannot get ,thus they sell them for what bookstores have to pay for them. Fortunately, in this town we have one of the best independents in the country.

[Dan Hintz]

I highly prefer paper to e-books (unless I need to search for specific data). When the local Books-a-Million went out of business, I stocked up.

[David Masters]

I prefer paper books as well, but find the convenience of having an extensive library of books that can travel with me, too attractive to ignore. However, for non-fiction, I can almost always obtain a hardcover book for pennies while a digital copy on Amazon is almost always near publisher's price.

Dave

[Scott Donley]

I at one time thought I would never use e-books, that was until my daughter gave me her Kindle when she upgraded. Iread 2/3 books a week now and could not afford to be doing that if I was buying at a brick and morter. I get all my e-books from the library and it has also let me discover some new authors that I would have never discovered if I was having to buy them.

[Steve Peterson]

I also prefer paper to e-books and miss the local bookstores. The closest B&N is about 20 miles away and not really worth making a trip unless I am in the area for something else.

It is nice to be able to flip through the book to decide if it is worth reading. This is especially true for woodworking books, although most bookstores carry a really small selection.

Lately I have had better luck shopping for books at thrift stores. There are few woodworking books, but you can find many other topics. Prices are often around $2 to $4 each. Online used book dealers are usually $4 to $6 including the shipping and you can usually find woodworking books that are a few years old.

I also try to visit Powell's books in Portland whenever I am in town. They have a huge selection of used books. I am sure that a few other big towns have similar stores.

Steve

[Matt Day]

Last time I was at my local B&N (a couple years ago), they had at least 6 ww'ing mags. Hope that hasn't changed.

[John K Jordan]

I probably read 100 books a year. I buy a lot of electronic books to read on the Kindle (mostly fiction) and a bunch of paper books I want on the shelf. All of my woodworking, metal working, electronics, animal care, ceramics, carving books and so on are paper books. I can't put a sticky note tab an electronic book or flip back and forth between two places or write notes in the margin.

I buy most books, real and imaginary, from Amazon.

JKJ

[Mike Ontko]

Barnes and Noble has always been lacking for inventory, unless you happen to be looking for romance fiction or other (IMHO) mostly useless drivel. This is probably the reason they've increased the size of their other in-store sections containing items that aren't specifically reading materials.

But depending on where you're situated, there are still brick-and-mortar shops that carry used or out-of-print books as well as newer offerings...and often on much more varied subjects than what you'd find in B&N. Seattle, WA has a place like this called Third Place Books and I was at an even better place in Portland recently called Powell's.

I have a couple of books that I'm currently reading on an e-reader app on my tablet and cell phone (Android powered), as well as the digital editions of Mother Earth News and FWW. But I still receive (and prefer) paper-based magazine subscriptions in the mail and visit my local public library as often as I can. There's no sense in building a personal stock of books that you're not likely to ever read or refer to again.

[Randy Rose]

There was a coffee shop inside the bookstore that seemed busier than the store. .

In order to understand this concept, you need to buy a Beret , take your laptop, order a double latte, free range organic Yak milk, mocha mint, free trade chocolate Frappucrapuccino and hang out.

[Chris Padilla]

I still read a fair amount of paperback books as I have a fair collection. However I now need glasses to read and it is annoying (in general) but I still read 10+ minutes every night of something. I sleep much better reading. The local library is still an excellent and 'free' resource for books along with 'free' DVDs. I'll often try out an author there before plunking down cash for newer books.

I've read The Hobbit and LotR every even year summer since 1982 when The Hobbit was first introduced to me in 7th grade. Looking forward to it this summer! I think I'll start doing that with Game of Thrones for the odd summers although those are some long long books to read!