Quote:
Originally Posted by Gotadimple
One can sit at home and click through the book-selling web sites looking for something to read and find it - popular or not - well-reviewed or not - trending or not.
Or
One can wandering the bookshelves in a book store (new or used or both), take in the colors of the spines and the covers, and inhale the scents of the surroundings. Get the atmosphere and then find something you were not expecting - because you are on your feet, moving your eyes, and hands, and touching the real thing.
Technology may be a fast way to deliver, but it is not better than the tactile senses.
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You're free to romanticize bookstores, but I have to drive at least a half an hour to get to one. It has continually cut book space to sell more non-book bric-a-brac like dvds, musical instruments, novelties, etc. So now they're even less likely to have what I want. Plus the last several times I ventured in there was no one working the book desk if I had a question or needed assistance; and from the yard sale like appearance of the book section it's clearly not a priority. Now if I drive an hour I can find a bookstore that's only slightly better.
You can keep the bookstores, I'll take an instant download or two day shipping if I'd prefer paper and save my gas, time and frustration. My life-long love affair with physical bookstores is as dead as the bookstores themselves nearly are.