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There are no real book sellers around where I live.
The Ingle's I frequent in a small town used to have a wide aisle section for books. On one side, hardbound books, shelves about 30 plus feet wide displaying the front of books, spines, both paper bound and hard bound. Best sellers plus others. Divided into sections. It had a space on the other side of the wide aisle with magazines. A lot of magazines. There were chairs, benches in the extra wide aisle and some islands with books laid out on them.
That is gone now. Removed about 6 to 8 months ago. Now there is about 20 feet of magazines, on one side of a standard size aisle. Still it is the best selection of magazines in the town.
Some years ago, there was a News Stand in the town. I knew the owner from way back. Not so much personally, but through his presence at his News Stand. He had been there forever. He was the News Stand owner which made him an important friend to have. He had everything, from comics to the Wall Street Journal, and the latest best sellers and all the good Sci Fiction writers, computer magazines, music magazines, electronic magazines, flying magazines, and on and on. I ordered books through him. I talked to him about the books. He knew everything that was to know about science fiction books, about science fiction authors, their upcoming books, and their lives. We would commiserate about the change in tastes of the book buying/reading public. About the passing of authors.
The thing about the New Stand, was that I could drive up, park a few yards from the door, walk in, nod or wave at my friend who was always there if it was open, check the displays, find a new sci-fi paperback, peruse it quickly front and back, read a few pages, and I knew whether I wanted it, or didn't want it. If I had a question my friend could answer it. My friend told me he would call me if a new book of an author I liked was in. I said no. I liked the surprise and elation of finding a good book.
All that is gone. My News Stand friend died. The Stand died with him.
There is a Barnes and Noble in a nearby city. It would take me about 2 plus hours to get there driving. There is a smaller Books a Million in a smaller town about an hour plus away. Both these stores have reduced very much their book stock. Plenty of coffee and knick-knacks for sale though. Good for Christmas presents. There was a bigger Books a Million book store in the city a long time ago. It closed. For a few years, the store front was closed except for yearly "book fair sales." Those were nice. You know the kind. Tons of books brought in, and sold for a dollar or two for the most part.
The big malls in these two towns used to have small to medium sized book stores but with nice varied collections. All gone now.
Now I am left with the remains of Ingles, and the drug stores for magazines. The nearby Bi-Lo does have besides the same magazines, about a 5 foot section of paperbacks but they are 95 percent mostly female type trash novels. A Walmart further away does have a lot of pop and children's books, plus about a 3 foot wide shelf of Sci-fi.
That is it. We aren't just on line because we want to be. It is also because we have to be.
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