I think that the B&M bookstore has been replaced by the library. It is the place to go if you want to browse books, and it even lets you borrow them before you buy them

. Mine even lends ebooks, and I hope to soon get a New York Public Library card that will get me free access to one of the world's biggest online libraries. I buy my pbooks on eBay, Abe's Books, library sales and other used places. I am yet to buy an ebook. I dislike Amazon, as I feel it is a monster (nothing to do with books). I do go to my B&N sometimes, as it is my only 'local' bookstore, and I have bought many books there. It always seems busy, but they probably sell more coffee and cake then books. However, I prefer to go to my library. The only thing that beats my library, other than the New York Public Library, are the little bookstores in NYC. The idea that B&N is what killed the little bookstores near me to begin with is an interesting one that somehow makes Amazon seem like a case of 'what goes around comes around'.