Has the Kindle Ruined My Bookstore Experience?

[djulian]

So, I was putting on my socks this morning--though I should say "afternoon," as I didn't put on my socks until about 12:30--and my Kindle was staring at me from my bedside table. We had a good evening together. I read some articles from Longform, read some Psalms, checked out James Brown's Wikipedia article, and the Kindle provided all of this without a complaint. It even powered my little book light.

But two days ago, I was wandering through a Barnes & Noble--the same B&N in which I used to drop $50 on books and stumble home with a stack of discoveries. This most recent trip, I saw a few new books of interest, made a note of the titles, and then added them to my Kindle wishlist. I still haven't bought any of them. I've got about fifty unread ebooks sitting on the device that I'm still working my way through.

I think I'm spending much more time actually reading, and much less time looking for something to read. But I kind of miss the thrill of the hunt, so to speak. I miss disappearing into the stacks at a used bookstore and resurfacing with a nicely-priced copy of Kierkegaard or P.D. James or Tolstoy or some other author of interest. And an added bonus, I knew my dinner guests would see these books on my bookshelves and know something about me--that I like philosophy and mystery and Russian literature. And I would smile and organize my shelves at home and feel fairly well-satisfied in my books. This doesn't happen anymore.

Has this happened to you all too? Do you still spend hours hunting for books and cultivating your shelves? Or do you now just tap, "Add to Wishlist" and grab it when you have the funds and the time?

Is this even a bad change?

I don't know. I just don't feel like going to Barnes & Noble again, which makes me feel a bit like I've lost something important.

[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!

[Tony1988]

What can you say??? Your damned if you do damned if you dont. Look at it this way "nothing lasts forever" a few years from now the bookstore (save for a few smaller shops) Will most likely be gone. This is the downside for some of the exploding ebook market and the internet. You will just have to be comfortable with the fact that your ereader is your own personal bookstore now.

[BeccaPrice]

I feel about bookstores the way some Republicans feel about the Republican party: I didn't leave them, they left me.

25 or so years ago, when my husband and I got married, our wedding gift to each other was a spree in the big Borders store in downtown Ann Arbor. As I recall, we each left with several hundred dollars in books - a lot of them non-fiction titles we saw from scanning the science or technology shelves.

There's a big 2-story B&N near me, I've only been in a couple of times. There's shelves and shelves of *stuff*, and lots of YA paranormals, but not a lot of books that might be interesting to me. The last time I was in the B&N, there were three tables of 50 Shades books, and tables of the latest best sellers, but nothing that looked particularly interesting to me. The political books were all the big-name conservative pundits - in Ann Arbor, of all places. I left with a thermal travel mug, and no books. I truly can't remember the last time I bought a book in a book store.

I have over 100 unread books on my kindle. The next book is only one good review and a couple of clicks away for me. I don't need to drive 25 miles to browse in a store, only to be disappointed yet again.

[Dazrin]

I am glad I work within walking distance of Powell's City of Books, but I tend to only make the trip when I need a reference book or something that is out of print. It's sort of sad.

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

There's a big 2-story B&N near me, I've only been in a couple of times. There's shelves and shelves of *stuff*, and lots of YA paranormals, but not a lot of books that might be interesting to me.

I've been the same way, even with used book stores. If the local stores didn't carry something I wanted to read, odds are no one around me bought it to trade in. I love hanging around in both the new and used book stores, but vary rarely come home with something. And sometimes, when I did, it was with the attitude that what I'd chosen was better than nothing, and I needed *something* to read.

And the local library hardly ever had anything in, especially in series books. I could bet that 9 times out of 10 the first five to six books in a series had been lost or culled by the time I found the series existed. Disappointing.

For me, it's not so much the ebooks that have made book hunting a lot more fun, but the on-line book sellers and the used book trading sites. If I want something, I could find it and have it shipped! Yeah! Like one huge collection that could have almost any copy I could ever be interested in. I just had to find what 'room' it was in and how much it would cost to get. Then I joined the swap site, and cut costs by mailing my trades out in bulk and ordering in bulk, and could quickly build up a whole series before I got too far into it!

I prefer ebooks now, yet the hunt for them still feels the same as for the physical books. The local stores just never really catered to me, so I can't say I couldn't do without them.

Which is a shame, but I think they lost me long ago, before ebooks.

[Blossom]

Last time I went to a B&N it was 2 years ago. I notice they had their own paperback editions now and it sold $1 to $2 more then the copy I could get at Wal-Mart or Amazon. If I am going to buy a physical book which I still do I'm not paying $8.99 or $9.99 for a mass market. I can get it cheaper online or at my local department store. I mostly shop on eBay or Amazon Market Place for my books.

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

I feel about bookstores the way some Republicans feel about the Republican party: I didn't leave them, they left me.

25 or so years ago, when my husband and I got married, our wedding gift to each other was a spree in the big Borders store in downtown Ann Arbor. As I recall, we each left with several hundred dollars in books - a lot of them non-fiction titles we saw from scanning the science or technology shelves.

There's a big 2-story B&N near me, I've only been in a couple of times. There's shelves and shelves of *stuff*, and lots of YA paranormals, but not a lot of books that might be interesting to me. The last time I was in the B&N, there were three tables of 50 Shades books, and tables of the latest best sellers, but nothing that looked particularly interesting to me. The political books were all the big-name conservative pundits - in Ann Arbor, of all places. I left with a thermal travel mug, and no books. I truly can't remember the last time I bought a book in a book store.

I have over 100 unread books on my kindle. The next book is only one good review and a couple of clicks away for me. I don't need to drive 25 miles to browse in a store, only to be disappointed yet again.

Actually, more applicable to Democrats.

[Namekuseijin]

Physical stores are gone for good. Physical contact is gone for good. Physics is now only needed to provide the electronics and energy flow that feed our minds.

[din155]

Isn't it true for most of our shopping? Last week one of colleague wanted to try out a pair of winter shoes in Camden from a famous shop. Apparently the shopkeeper was grandson of the founder of the shop. While showing her various choices he kept on ranting about why people should stop shopping online and visit the shops more often to keep them running. She almost came out of the shop due to his barrage against online shopping. I guess the shop lost one more customer. Wondering if no one advised him to start selling online.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

The handwriting is on the wall for any stores that carry products that are easily shopped online, or who don't optimize the personal experience to encourage people to come in.

For myself, I'd never enjoyed "the thrill of the hunt" in bookstores; more often than not, I left empty-handed and unsatisfied, either because I didn't find anything interesting, or I was unhappy with the state of what I found (hardbacks, oversized trades, crazy pricing, etc). A great deal of my shopping is done online now, and generally I don't mind one bit, unless the product is the rare one that I'd rather see or try out in person.

If you actually enjoyed your bookstore experiences, it's a shame that that is changing for you. But at least you have another way to get your books. Those of us who don't have good in-store experiences (or lost them due to closing bookstores), and buy online or with our readers, have a better experience now.

[EowynCarter]

Clothes and shoes are thing i don't feel confortable with buying online, i like to try them.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Clothes and shoes are thing i don't feel confortable with buying online, i like to try them.

I buy some clothes online, especially if it's a brand and style I'm already familiar with, and I know my size. Shoes I buy in person.

[vishcompany]

Originally Posted by djulian

...
I think I'm spending much more time actually reading, and much less time looking for something to read. But I kind of miss the thrill of the hunt, so to speak. I miss disappearing into the stacks at a used bookstore and resurfacing with a nicely-priced copy of Kierkegaard or P.D. James or Tolstoy or some other author of interest. And an added bonus, I knew my dinner guests would see these books on my bookshelves and know something about me--that I like philosophy and mystery and Russian literature. And I would smile and organize my shelves at home and feel fairly well-satisfied in my books. This doesn't happen anymore.

Has this happened to you all too? Do you still spend hours hunting for books and cultivating your shelves? Or do you now just tap, "Add to Wishlist" and grab it when you have the funds and the time?...

Same here, but I have to say, I am quite happy about this. I am about to move in two months time and I will use the oppurtunity to chuck out a load of books. Travel lightly... e-reading has been a blessing to me. I like books, but I also like free space and I don't like carrying and storing them.
These days, I only go to bookshops when looking for a present. When it comes to books for myself, if some title is not available as an ebook, I will wait and get something else meanwhile.

[carld]

I haven't been to a bookstore in ... at least a couple of years. It's just a mixture of changes in my life that have brought that about.

1. I can't read paperbooks like I once did. My Kindle's adjustable font size has been a massive help in reading.

2. I moved to an area where bookstores just aren't that common. I think there is, or was, one at the local mall, but I haven't been out there in years. I bought a paperback copy of Dean Koontz's Phantoms at the local used bookshop years, and two moves, ago, haven't been back since.

3. Amazon's ebook selection, limited as it is, is enormous compared to the local bookstores, both in the numbers of titles and in subject matter. There's really no comparison.

I do mourn the passing of bookstores, but time moves on and the world changes with it. I'm entirely happy to do a search at Amazon and browse titles and authors I'd never have seen locally. And having a new book in my hands in minutes in a format that I can actually read is heaven.