Hard copy vs EBOOK

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by some call me tim

Really? Do you want to see bookstores close? I don't know if I've ever walked into a bookstore and thought "Man, I can't wait to see this place gone." I find bookstores to be different than many other stores because the people that work there are usually motivated by their love of books than the paycheck.

Taking personal feelings out of it, if they're not selling a product that the majority of consumers want anymore, then why should they stay open?

I think, if it gets to that point, the smart ones will start selling eBooks.

[Scott Nicholson]

I agree. Nobody cries over the video stores that went out of business. Everyone went to Redbox and Netflix and it was the consumers--us--that made that happen. They didn't do anything wrong, but then, neither did the dinosaurs or the dodo bird.

Scott Nicholson
http://www.hauntedcomputer.com

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by some call me tim

Really? Do you want to see bookstores close? I don't know if I've ever walked into a bookstore and thought "Man, I can't wait to see this place gone."

For myself, almost all the books I read now are ebooks or are bought from Amazon or Ebay (and the rest are used books from the occasional visit to charity stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army.) I don't remember the last time I walked into a physical book store, but it has to be at least 2 or 3 years ago. Even 10 years ago when I was still using a physical book store (Books A Million) it was almost always to buy magazines, as I was already getting my physical books cheaper from Amazon.

So-- for me-- it isn't a matter of wanting book stores to close, but that their continuing presence is no longer important to me one way or the other.

[carld]

For a lot of people a town without a bookstore is already a reality. I have mixed feelings about it. It's probably inevitable as more book buying moves online. But, the price and selection online is so much better than any bookstore that it may not be a big deal for most people.

Also, there are still libraries, which are even better for getting lost in.

LAREDO, Texas (CNN) - The bookstore was Zhuara Rivera's magical "Neverland." It offered a fairy tale world for 14-year-old Rivera to get lost in stories and words.

But the books are gone. On January 16, Barnes & Noble, which owns B. Dalton, closed the store inside Laredo's Mall del Norte.

That leaves Laredo, Texas, population of 250,000, one of the largest cities in the United States without a bookstore.

Largest City in the US without a bookstore

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by some call me tim

Really? Do you want to see bookstores close? I don't know if I've ever walked into a bookstore and thought "Man, I can't wait to see this place gone." I find bookstores to be different than many other stores because the people that work there are usually motivated by their love of books than the paycheck.

SCMT - the OP was 'trolling'.

And b&m bookstores made a *choice* to not adapt to the changing market. Had they adapted, they'd still be around.

No, Great Britain's not more 'literate' - after all, for every 100 d-t books we buy, we're buying 189 e-books.

Derek

[Tattncat]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

If I want to donate to charity, I'll write a check.

Ditto

[some call me tim]

I see what you guys are saying from a pragmatic standpoint, and yeah, I suppose it is personal feelings, but I genuinely enjoy the atmosphere of bookstores--the crowd, the smell, the staff, etc. Admittedly, I don't spend a whole lot of money in them either, due to the library and Amazon, but I still like them. For instance, here in Seattle, we have a cool indie bookstore that has a pub in the basement--how cool is that? You can roam through the shelves, find an interesting book or two, and then head downstairs for a pint. That's the kind of experience you just can't duplicate through online shopping.

I don't think the video store compares quite as well, because a lot of the video stores that disappeared were the Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos, which for the most part were a dismal place to shop (bright lighting, cookie cutter corporate structure, etc.) To again use a local example, we have a place here called Scarecrow Video that caters to cinephiles and has a huge selection of titles (110,000+), many of which are hard to find/OOP. That's about the closest thing to a bookstore I can think of in the video world, and I can guarantee people would miss that place.

I suppose if most bookstores were like, say, WaldenBooks (the Blockbuster of the book world), then yeah, I wouldn't have much attachment to them. But being that it hasn't gotten that bleak yet, I'd like to see b&m stores stick around for a while.

BTW, off topic, but ardeegee, that is an awesome avatar!

[some call me tim]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

SCMT - the OP was 'trolling'.

And b&m bookstores made a *choice* to not adapt to the changing market. Had they adapted, they'd still be around.

No, Great Britain's not more 'literate' - after all, for every 100 d-t books we buy, we're buying 189 e-books.

Derek

Well, B&N are trying to adapt with integrating the nook into their B&M stores. But how does a B&M store stock ebooks on the shelves for customers to peruse? That's like saying CD stores failed because they weren't selling mp3s.

And for the record, I said the UK is likely more "literary" not "literate", though there's some humorous irony there. I'd be surprised if the average American reads more than the average Brit (or any other European for that matter). How many TV channels do they have? How many do we have?

[Freeshadow]

well i'm gonna outing myself as one of the non-donating bastards.
I only buy books which i would re-read. If its not worth to be read again, it's not worth to be read once - it's as simple as that.

this means: I keep my books

[dickon25]

I've said before on MR that I still love to browse in bookshops, even though I rarely buy pbooks now. My ideal solution would be a store which let me select a book and then download it there and then from a terminal in the corner. Perhaps when the format wars have resolved themselves and the days of proprietary readers/formats have gone, that model will help keep the B&M stores alive.

[Bremen Cole]

The OP reminds me of that odd professor guy that used to troll here....can't remember his name....hmm

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by some call me tim

If ebooks take off (and I think they will), there will be less and less reason for people to go out to b&m stores.

Actually, it should be "if webshops take off (and I know they will), there will be less and less reason for people to go out to b&m stores.

The demise of b&m stores isn't caused by ebooks, but rather by webshops, like Amazon.

We have an awesome bookstore here in town. It has a good selection and it's a good atmosphere. But the few pbooks I've bought these last few years, I either bought at Amazon or Bol.com (major Dutch online bookshop). Because it's much easier than going to town. And they're always open, even if I want to buy in the middle of the night, instead of closing at 6.

Originally Posted by Shaggy

Taking personal feelings out of it, if they're not selling a product that the majority of consumers want anymore, then why should they stay open?

I think, if it gets to that point, the smart ones will start selling eBooks.

Originally Posted by dickon25

I've said before on MR that I still love to browse in bookshops, even though I rarely buy pbooks now. My ideal solution would be a store which let me select a book and then download it there and then from a terminal in the corner. Perhaps when the format wars have resolved themselves and the days of proprietary readers/formats have gone, that model will help keep the B&M stores alive.

I agree. In the future you'll be able to buy hard cover, soft cover, paperback and ebook formats. I know of a (minor) publisher here in the Netherlands, that has started to sell its books on an USB stick. You can also buy this stick in a b&m store.

Originally Posted by ardeegee

For myself, almost all the books I read now are ebooks or are bought from Amazon or Ebay (and the rest are used books from the occasional visit to charity stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army.) I don't remember the last time I walked into a physical book store, but it has to be at least 2 or 3 years ago. Even 10 years ago when I was still using a physical book store (Books A Million) it was almost always to buy magazines, as I was already getting my physical books cheaper from Amazon.

So-- for me-- it isn't a matter of wanting book stores to close, but that their continuing presence is no longer important to me one way or the other.

See, I'm not the only one!

[mike_bike_kite]

Originally Posted by some call me tim

And for the record, I said the UK is likely more "literary" not "literate", though there's some humorous irony there. I'd be surprised if the average American reads more than the average Brit (or any other European for that matter). How many TV channels do they have? How many do we have?

I travelled extensively round the US years back and I found it extremely difficult finding book shops outside of the big cities. This could of course mean that everyone bought books through the web but wherever I went I'd rarely see people reading books. I personally believe the Americans on this site are definitely the exception rather than the rule.

PS Your tag (some call me tim) reminded me of a chap who introduced himself to us down the pub a little while back. He said his name was Tim but stated that most people called him Spike. Nicknames really ought to be earned and not just suggested to people - so on that basis we called him Timothy for the rest of the evening

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

well i'm gonna outing myself as one of the non-donating bastards.
I only buy books which i would re-read. If its not worth to be read again, it's not worth to be read once - it's as simple as that.

this means: I keep my books

So, I'm not the only one! Besides, I need many more books in my library (once we've finished the house, that is...)

[hirenmodi]

soft copy is better then hard copy. we can access our soft copy at any place but for hard copy we can move every where with us.