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I think that the negative comments might be due to the fact that people are emotionally attached to bookshops (as they were to record shops), and that they blame the new technology for taking them away. In reality, I expect that bookshops will change, rather than disappear. I suspect that the massive, mass-market book megastore has had its day, because that content can be replaced electronically pretty easily, while the smaller, second-hand and more esoteric bookshops still have a chance.
I remember going to Foyles in London as a youth and being overwhelmed by the massive choice etc. Going again as an adult, I had the opposite experience, because I had Amazon and abebooks to compare it with. Nowadays, I find physical bookshops a little depressing, because they have so little that I want. I doubt that the next generation will miss physical bookshops - especially the barn-like ones - very much.
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