Anyone miss paper books and browsing the physical bookstore?

[Tony1988]

Was going through my old collection of paperbacks and hardcover books yesterday. I remember when I bought many of them and the excitement I would get when I saw a new release of a book in a series or from a favorite author. I would see the new shiny covers at the bookstore and couldn't wait to begin a new adventure in my head. I was like a kid in a candy shop

Those days seem to be behind me now. I don't read as much anymore.(though I'm trying to remedy that) Don't browse the bookstore as much anymore. When I do want a new book i get it on my ereader.

I miss that rush at the bookstore.
I wanted to go down to the local bookstore yesterday and buy everything In paper that I haven't in the last ten years.lol

[Tony1988]

Yes I meant bookstore.lol

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Tony1988

Yes I meant bookstore.lol

Would you like me to report your post for a title fix?

In answer to the question, no because I still browse the book section of thrift stores.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Tony1988

Anyone miss paper books and browsing the physical bookstore?

No, 'cause I still do it. The only ebooks I buy are reference texts.

I only read paper books, mainly off remainder tables, from street side libraries, or used book shops. Once I've read a book I put it in a street side library; until they sprung up I'd leave them at bus stops, on park benches, sometimes give them to op (thrift) shops, or do swaps at second hand book shops.

One of my local shopping malls has a reading room with donated books, if you take a book you're expected to reciprocate by leaving a book, same as the street side libraries.

Gould's book shop may have to close, its one of Sydney's treasures

BR

[cromag]

Not really. I have a used book store that I manage to get to every once in a while. (Most of) the prices add to the nostalgia of the experience.

[darryl]

Absolutely not! But if you still like this sort of thing, I'm happy that you still have plenty of opportunities to indulge.

[Terisa de morgan]

Browsing bookstores searching for something new? Yes, perhaps. Paper books? Not at all.

[Tony1988]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Would you like me to report your post for a title fix?

In answer to the question, no because I still browse the book section of thrift stores.

If you could thanks.
I could only change the title within the thread.

I have a Barnes and Noble two miles from home that I like to go to once in a while and a couple smaller used book stores that I browse. I really should go to Barnes a bit more. I probably go there three or four times a year. Than of course there is the book sections In the big boxes but I rarely look at them.

[darryl]

@Tony. If you like the Barnes and Noble I suggest you visit it as much as possible in the near future. Indications are it may not be there much longer.

[issybird]

What I miss most is the mission to acquire OOP books. I'd have long lists that I'd leave with likely proprietors and I'd haunt antiquarian book sales and stores. The rush when I'd finally, finally get something I'd been hunting for years, sometimes, was colossal.

Now? You go online to Addall or Powells or Abe, see everything that's out there on a specific title and if it's a price you're willing to pay, click and it's yours. It's not nearly so much fun, if a lot less work and time. And the reality is that I've got so used to the ease of ereading that I rarely read a paperbook now anyway.

And what also is gone is serendipity, the finding of a title that you hadn't known about until that minute and you just have to have it. There's a bit of that with ebooks on occasion, but it's much rarer and the titles aren't nearly so compelling, at least for me.

[Tony1988]

Yeah, there were times when I would just go in looking for something to read. I would be flipping over books reading the back of them to get an idea if it would be interesting to me.

[ekbell]

I find that browsing my local library provides all the pleasure of random browsing while catalogs, bargain sites, mailing lists, reading recommendations and the like provide me with plenty of opportunity to find books I didn't know about and now want to own. In fact judging by my unread list, I have had too many opportunities to find strange new books that I must now own.

So I don't particularly miss physical bookstores although I have fond memories of several.

[Tarana]

I totally miss the browsing. However, I stopped reading long before I got an ereader because of vision loss. It was only because of the ereader that I was able to read again. I still go to Barnes & Noble for craft books. Most of the time though, it's in and out because I order stuff for pick up there. My browsing is online because I can READ IT there.

What I really miss browsing is Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgars (Hugo's specializes in Scifi and Edgars specializes in Thriller/mystery). I still go there a couple of times a year, but I struggle to read the back of the books. My sis makes up for it and buys $80 worth of books every time though. She still sticks with paperbacks and supplements with ereader.

[Rbneader]

I do. I'm allergic to dust and mildew, so used book stores are often problematic. There's one nearby, but I can only go in if they've left the doors and windows open.

Browsing really is easier in a physical bookstore. I've become more and more reliant on word of mouth recs, online or off, to find books that I might like. Digital browsing is simply slower and less likely to produce good results.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Rbneader

I do. I'm allergic to dust and mildew, so used book stores are often problematic. There's one nearby, but I can only go in if they've left the doors and windows open.

Browsing really is easier in a physical bookstore. I've become more and more reliant on word of mouth recs, online or off, to find books that I might like. Digital browsing is simply slower and less likely to produce good results.

I pretty much quit going to physical bookstores and libraries since I can get new books on my reader without leaving home. However, I know what you mean about the browsing. In a physical store it's usually pretty easy to see how the store has books categorized. Within categories, you can easily skim past books you know you don't want. For example, if you already own all the books by author X____ , it's easy to see where his/her books end and the next author begins. Plus you can flip through a book and read random samples, rather than just whatever sample text got uploaded to a bookstore.