Has the Kindle Ruined My Bookstore Experience?

[Antoinekamel]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Used to visit mall bookstores - B Dalton and Waldenbooks; but that was years ago. I no longer visit bookstores or libraries and don't miss the experience one bit.

Long live the internet!

I used to be sick (in the good sense of the term) for books, buying and organizing and cleaning, sometimes even reading them.

This week I sold maybe two thirds of my old relics, tired of dust and weight, keeping basically non-fiction.

I definitely got on the "Kindle Mood".

[ebusinesstutor]

I like book store, but rarely buy anything in them any more.

One reference book I came across that I wanted was $24.95 in Chapters, but when I checked my smart phone, it was $16.99 on Amazon for the same print version and $9.99 in Kindle format so I purchased the ebook.

Local bookstores can't compete and I'm not willing pay an extra $8 per book just to support them. But I will be sad when they close.

[djulian]

The book I requested at B&N on the night I mentioned above is "The Last Good Kiss" by James Crumley. I said, "Do you have anything by James Crumley?" The answer was, "No." I've had this same experience now at three different big bookstores. It's strange that no one carries anything by such an influential mystery author, but backlist genre fiction might be a tough sell.

So anyhow, I found it on Amazon for a good price along with several recommendations of similar authors.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by ebusinesstutor

Local bookstores can't compete and I'm not willing pay an extra $8 per book just to support them. But I will be sad when they close.

When I pay that extra 8 bucks, I figure I'm paying for

(1) getting a hard copy immediately rather than waiting for it (given that a hard copy is what I want in preference to an ebook, which is often the case);
(2) curating by the bookstore - i.e., selection of interesting books I might not have known about, organized in a visual fashion;
(3) opportunity to check out the contents in the way I want to check them out, as opposed to being limited to the first few pages(often the intro rather than the narrative) or an arbitrary "read inside" somehow selected for me;
(4) opportunity for an excursion to a "great good place" (The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community, by Ray Oldenburg)
(5) interactive counseling from someone who can help me locate what I want, even if I don't know I want it.

So I consider the money above the Amazon price as payment for something Amazon isn't selling.

[BeccaPrice]

Unfortunately, the curation aspect of a bookstore means that they stock the books they want to sell me, not necessarily the books I want to buy.

[crich70]

I do occasionally visit my local used bookstore but not as much as I used to. Why buy a heavy pbook copy of a particular title that I then have to lug home and find a spot for on the bookshelf (already full) when I can just download an ebook copy and read on my Kindle ereader. Plus I either have to walk or take a cab downtown to visit the store (assuming it's a day that the store is open). Since it's closed on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday every week I can't just go when I want to. Amazon and other ebook stores are open 24/7 to buy a book from. Plus of course there are the free books at places like Gutenberg and MR.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by djulian

The book I requested at B&N on the night I mentioned above is "The Last Good Kiss" by James Crumley. I said, "Do you have anything by James Crumley?" The answer was, "No." I've had this same experience now at three different big bookstores. It's strange that no one carries anything by such an influential mystery author, but backlist genre fiction might be a tough sell.

So anyhow, I found it on Amazon for a good price along with several recommendations of similar authors.

Had never heard of the author before, but I agree you can sometimes find books through Amazon and not elsewhere. I'm not sure of how many of his books/stories are available but I did buy one by Jack Webb in ebook format the other day. Wouldn't have found it elsewhere I imagine since I'm not even sure he has much work still in print.

[Santos]

I still go to the bookstore and library every once in awhile, but technology has deff slowed down my visits

[LovesMacs]

I'm not limiting my answer to Kindles but e-books in general. Ever since adopting them I have spent more on them than physical books. I still buy printed books but they fall into one or more of the following categories:

1. Books that have many pictures, especially ones that are in oversize formats or those that I know (from prior shopping) have poorly-done digital versions
2. Titles that don't exist in digital format and have exhausted my patience in waiting
3. Books that have sentimental value for whatever reason, commemorating an anniversary or a special person or trip, etc.

I occasionally buy books at brick and mortar stores if the relative value of the physical book is better than the electronic version. If for example the e-book is more expensive or only marginally cheaper than the paper book, I may choose paper instead.

Sometimes I even buy paper just to help prop up a business and help the local economy.

Some stores seem to be trying their best to drive away my business. Barnes and Noble, among others, seem intent on becoming a toy store that carries books too rather than the reverse.

[voracious71]

I love my Kindle. I do most of my reading on it. But, I still love to wander the bookstore and I still buy paper books.

[SolRaven]

The last time I was in BN it was to buy two books as gifts. I was surprised that they were still full price. While I was in there, I checked BN.com for the same books and they were half price. It's more work for me to buy the books, then ship them than to just buy them from BN.com and ship them directly from their website, to the recipient. The next time I went to that BN it was closed. A month later it was demolished and a new building was being erected in its place. I must admit, I don't get the same thrill from bookstores, that I used to get.

[Pomtroll]

We go to our B&N at least once a week. DH still buys books & magazines. I still peruse the shelves but make note of the ones I'm interested in & buy them either online or via my reader. Sometimes I bring the reader with me & compare prices. If I have in store coupons it is sometimes cheaper to buy the paper book.

But I will admit, visiting & buying at book stores is no longer the fun time it used to be.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

Unfortunately, the curation aspect of a bookstore means that they stock the books they want to sell me, not necessarily the books I want to buy.

Manifestly true for the Big Box Bookstores. But not at all true of the good independent bookstores - Kramer's in Washington DC, Tattered Pages in Denver, Unabridged Books in Chicago.

Obviously they aren't always going to have the specific book you want, but my experience is that they have the books I didn't know I wanted. That is, they don't stock the books they think I ought to buy; they stock the books they think I ought to read.

[Santos]

Originally Posted by SolRaven

The last time I was in BN it was to buy two books as gifts. I was surprised that they were still full price. While I was in there, I checked BN.com for the same books and they were half price. It's more work for me to buy the books, then ship them than to just buy them from BN.com and ship them directly from their website, to the recipient. The next time I went to that BN it was closed. A month later it was demolished and a new building was being erected in its place. I must admit, I don't get the same thrill from bookstores, that I used to get.

very well said.

[david_e]

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