"Barnes & Noble Set To Be Sold To Elliott Management For About $683 Million"

[Bookstooge]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

I think it might be the pretentiousness that is really doing the damage.

All I can say is thank goodness for the block/ignore user option...

[Raphi'Elohim]

Originally Posted by rcentros

That's simply not true.

Well, another small amount of Americans may be reading about the same amount but they probably aren't reading the same kind of books. l hate to single anyone out here and it is not my intention to pick on anyone but a good example would be the American here who goes by the handle Leebase. He is definitely not reading the same kind of books that Bill Gates and Warren Buffet do. Actually, Warren reads more than Bill Gates. Bill Gates reads for about an hour every day for sum total of 50 books a year. Warren Buffet on the other hand reads about 600-1,000 pages a day so he most likely reads more books than Gates.

...

In fact, when Warren Buffett was once asked about the key to success, he pointed to a stack of nearby books and said, “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”

Buffett takes this habit to the extreme — he read between 600 and 1000 pages per day when he was beginning his investing career, and still devotes about 80% of each day to reading.

And he’s not alone. Here are just a few top business leaders and entrepreneurs who make reading a major part of their daily lifestyle:

Bill Gates reads about 50 books per year, which breaks down to one per week
Mark Cuban reads more than three hours every day
Elon Musk is an avid reader. When asked how he learned to build rockets, he said, “I read books.”
Mark Zuckerberg resolved to read a book every two weeks throughout 2015
Oprah Winfrey selects one of her favorite books every month for her Book Club members to read and discuss

And these aren’t just isolated examples. A study of 1,200 wealthy people found that they all have reading as a pastime in common.

But successful people don’t just read anything. They are highly selective about what they read, opting to be educated over being entertained. They believe that books are a gateway to learning and knowledge.

In fact, there is a notable difference between the reading habits of the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy. According to Tom Corley, author of Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals, rich people (those with an annual income of $160,000 or more and a liquid net worth of $3.2 million-plus) read for self-improvement, education, and success. Meanwhile, poor people (those with an annual income of $35,000 or less and a liquid net worth of $5,000 or less) read primarily to be entertained.

...

https://qz.com/668514/if-you-want-to...eading-habits/


I never read books to be entertained I'd rather just go to a Broadway play in Manhattan. I read all non-fiction for understanding, knowledge and self-improvement.

[Raphi'Elohim]

Originally Posted by Bookstooge

All I can say is thank goodness for the block/ignore user option...

To attempt to silence a man is to pay him homage, for it is an acknowledgement that his arguments are both impossible to answer and impossible to ignore.

[cgsmom]

Originally Posted by Raphi'Elohim

To attempt to silence a man is to pay him homage, for it is an acknowledgement that his arguments are both impossible to answer and impossible to ignore.

Or it could mean that they are incredibly annoying.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Bookstooge

All I can say is thank goodness for the block/ignore user option...

Yes, it's very useful to mute spammers and the like.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by cgsmom

Or it could mean that they are incredibly annoying.

Like dogs: lots of noise, little to no content.
Best to "move along, move along... "

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

I think it might be the pretentiousness that is really doing the damage.

Someone who is actually an intellectual elite generally doesn't go around saying how much better they are, they are smart enough to know that doesn't win many friends and is counter productive, so yes, pretentiousness is probably a better word.

[DiapDealer]

Moderator Notice
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Deliberately provoking other members is prohibited. Members who post provocative or inflammatory posts will be warned. Persistent offenders may be banned.

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and

Remember that you can use the "ignore" function to ignore a member whose posts irritate you, but you must not announce in open forum that you have done so.

I would strongly advise EVERYONE to re-read the guidelines (and to comply with them).

Both pot-stirring, and public discussions about who might be blocking pot-stirrers are against the rules.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by Raphi'Elohim

Well, another small amount of Americans may be reading about the same amount but they probably aren't reading the same kind of books. l hate to single anyone out here and it is not my intention to pick on anyone but a good example would be the American here who goes by the handle Leebase. He is definitely not reading the same kind of books that Bill Gates and Warren Buffet do.

Quite right. Apparently you do listen even if you apparently are unable to concede a point. Your ludicrous notion that serious readers don’t read on tablets, for instance. Whether one is or is not a “serious reader”...should be about the content of what one is reading. The vast majority of my reading would not qualify as “serious”.

I do regret that for all your serious reading...it hasn’t helped your grasp of logic or reason. Alas, some of us are just born with these qualities...I really should admire that you are at least trying to better that mind of yours.

[DiapDealer]

Moderator Notice
Posts have been edited. Full deletions, official warnings and possible suspensions will follow if this thread does not return to topical, and non-inflammatory/non-retaliatory discussion.

[fjtorres]

Here's a thought:

Assume Daunt does follow through on his Waterstones blueprint and B&N stabilizes and even grows its B&M market share.

Where does it come from?
Are online shoppers going back to B&M or people start reading more or is someone else going to be "donating" market share?
Might it be back to the early nineties?

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Here's a thought:

Assume Daunt does follow through on his Waterstones blueprint and B&N stabilizes and even grows its B&M market share.

Where does it come from?
Are online shoppers going back to B&M or people start reading more or is someone else going to be "donating" market share?
Might it be back to the early nineties?

The smaller blueprint in new high traffic areas may bring in more reading shoppers.

Plus, any cost savings may help stabilize the looses.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Are online shoppers going back to B&M or people start reading more or is someone else going to be "donating" market share?
Might it be back to the early nineties?

How many people still occasionally go to the bookstore, but don't find anything of interest?
If B&N can make their bookstores more relevant to their local audience, or more welcoming, maybe more of those people will actually buy something.
For people who have already abandoned physical bookstores, perhaps word of mouth or community initiatives, book clubs, coffee mornings, that sort of thing, to get people remembering that B&N is a thing that still exists, and might have something of interest.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Fbone

The smaller blueprint in new high traffic areas may bring in more reading shoppers.

Plus, any cost savings may help stabilize the looses.

More shoppers from the existing pool, then? Rob Peter to pay Paul?
(That would be my guess.)

Or, new shoppers from the pool of non-readers?

It's a matter of likelihood, methinks.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

How many people still occasionally go to the bookstore, but don't find anything of interest?
If B&N can make their bookstores more relevant to their local audience, or more welcoming, maybe more of those people will actually buy something.
For people who have already abandoned physical bookstores, perhaps word of mouth or community initiatives, book clubs, coffee mornings, that sort of thing, to get people remembering that B&N is a thing that still exists, and might have something of interest.

This. People haven't stopped going to physical stores, they just have stopped going to some physical stores. It simply comes down to giving them a reason to come back. Are there some people who aren't going to go the B&N regardless because they are happy shopping online? Of course, but there is such a big market for print books.