[Ken Irving]

Lynch certainly screwed up with the tablets (which in themselves are not so bad) and put the company in a bad position, but Riggio bringing in bean counters who only udnerstand the physical side to run everything is exactly the wrong thing to do. Whether B&B does the electronics themselves or through a deal with someone else, they need to have a robust digital presence that integrates with their stores or they'll just keep circling the drain.

The local B&N where I am appears to be a pretty busy place, a center of community activity, but I hadn't gone in there for quite a long time before I went in 2 1/2 years ago to buy a Nook Classic (which I still use) and hadn't been in there much since then until I went in recently to buy an HD+. In other words, Lynch made me a customer, and if they don't work things out on the digital side they will lose me as a customer.

I'm a book lover and avid reader with too many paper books and not enough space to keep them, so it's not that I avoid B&N or any other brick and mortar bookstore. It's just that digital is more convenient and manageable at this point, and usually the occasional paper purchase can be handled just as well (or better) online through (gasp) Amazon or a used seller like Abebooks (which I think is actually owned by the Amazon octopus anyway), though since I bought the Nooks I have bought at least two books (gifts) in the local store. It's too bad about B&N, and I hope I don't end up with two marginal devices as the company continues to unwind.