People with Kindles are like robots in another world

[tarzanphan60]

I don't think we will ever get rid of physical books and I know I have certain collections that I will always build on whenever a new hardback comes out (Harry Potter series, Alphabet mysteries by Sue Grafton), but I also love my e-readers (and I have several kindles, nooks, and itoys) and think they will eventually become the standard.

Perhaps if physical books went back to being more unique (offering pictures that e-books don't have) they might be more tempting - but it is sure nice to not have every book shelf filled to overflowing as I buy more and more books.

[tarzanphan60]

Originally Posted by Rob Lister

He can survive.

Get rid of the majority of the book shelves. Stock all that are left with antique or rare books; high end only. Strive for romantic, not dusty. This can be done through attrition.

Fill the much of the remaining floor space with comfortable chairs, end tables, lamps. Bite the bullet and dump all florescents

Hire a barista, or personally learn the art. Dedicate some floor space to that. Gourmet pastries and a wine selection wouldn't hurt either.

The last of the floor space goes to selling nooks, kindles, etc. Don't forget the covers; commercial and local artisan.

Wall space above the shelves is covered--every inch of it--with paintings in oils, watercolors, pastels. A little white price tag hangs discretely from each.

He'll need decent wifi; free but maybe requiring a log-in code (printed on every purchased cup of coffee, good for an hour or more).

Exactly. There are also some incredible independent bookstores that I have seen in larger cities where I can spend hours finding unique books that will never be seen on my e-reader.

Originally Posted by wizwor

It's up to the book stores to make something like this happen.

Agreed, with a big caveat. The current ebook market discourages a competitive marketplace. Those who buy a Kindle are buying their books from Amazon. No exceptions. (Sure you can sell DRM-free Mobi and PDF files, but publishers aren't ready for that.) If you serve ePub readers, there is a little more freedom but there are also huge roadblocks. Licensing costs hurt the bookseller, especially if they don't know if they are going to sell enough to cover those costs. Are enough of the right publishers going to give you a license to sell their books? How do you distinguish yourself from other retailers in an industry that has minimal human interaction (if you're only online) or encourage customers to come to you when they it is faster to obtain an identical product from their desk chair (if you're brick and mortar)? To top it all off, the Internet seems to favor popularity. That makes the small vendor hard to find. It's product of how search engines and social networking sites work.

It can be done. But it sure is a lot more complex than it was in the bad old days. It depends upon a knowledge of the market that you're serving, the markets that you're buying from, and the technology to support it. Given that you can still walk into bookstores and never see a computer, how many of those small shops are going to be able to break into this brave new market?

[charmian]

I think book stores can buy themselves some time by specializing in genres of books that are not as available in ebook form, such as children's books, coffee table/art books, etc. Also, used books and out of print books.

[meeera]

People with Kindles are like robots in another world

These people never saw me as a kid, immersed in a paperback, walking smack into a lamppost.

[tubemonkey]

"Look, Montag, see how beautifully real books burn? It's an art. I just hate it when all we find are Kindles. Smashing is beneath the dignity of a real fireman."

[Joshua.P]

[DiapDealer]

Those who buy a Kindle are buying their books from Amazon. No exceptions.

**"Ahem" says this exception**

[piperclassique]

No, I pick up free books from Amazon. I buy books anywhere I can get the author and text I am looking for. Amazon sold me a Kindle, not a neck chain. The device is useful, but it hold a lot of stuff that's never been near Amazon.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Those who buy a Kindle are buying their books from Amazon. No exceptions.

The Kindle I use most, my 3G model, doesn't have ANY books from Amazon on it. It has over 300 books on it. None from Amazon.

[kennyc]

"You will be assimilated"

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by LovesMacs

"Kindles are just a phase and they won’t last."

He may be correct, just not in the way he thinks. Ten years from now, the reading market may have moved entirely to LCD screens.

A Kindle with an LCD screen is still a Kindle (FIRE).
Just as a Nook with an LCD screen is still a Nook (Color).

The eink technology enabled the mainstreaming of ebooks but it doesn't define it. Dedicated reading gadgets may turn out to be just a niche, long term, but that doesn't mean the Kindle ecosystem would be much hurt by that. That's what the reader apps are for.

The issue isn't *what* people read ebooks on, but that they read them at all. Which they do, in ever-growing numbers, and when they do the bulk of their buying goes digital. Which scares folks whose business model has always been "stock it and they will come".

And the concern isn't unfounded: the next wave of ebook disruption (the digitization of the backlist) is going to hit right where *they* live. As somebody who has, in the past, had to scrounge through used book stores and online used book sellers for specific long-out-of-print volumes, I am happy with this ongoing development but I can understand why they wouldn't.

But then, I'm a heartless robot so I really don't care.
I'll vote my wallet with *my* self-interest.

[thinkpad]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Those who buy a Kindle are buying their books from Amazon. No exceptions. (Sure you can sell DRM-free Mobi and PDF files, but publishers aren't ready for that.)

I buy a lot of e-books from Smashwords and before that from Fictionwise so Amazon is not the only marketplace available for Kindle users.

[RDaneel54]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Agreed, with a big caveat. The current ebook market discourages a competitive marketplace. Those who buy a Kindle are buying their books from Amazon. No exceptions. (Sure you can sell DRM-free Mobi and PDF files, but publishers aren't ready for that.)

Baen has been doing DRM free Mobi, epub, etc. for years. They are a publisher. Apparently, publishers can do that. My Kindles have been and are loaded with DRM free books from them.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by kennyc

"You will be assimilated"

For the record, that is a reference to tea.