Yesterday, I was reading my lovely deckle-edged version of the Odyssey with its crisp paper and musty "new book" smell thinking that I could have still saved some money and gotten the standard translation for free on my Kindle. I recently realized, however, that I adore actual, physical books. Don't get me wrong, I really like my over-sized kindle. I like that I can download most pre- 1920's books for free and new "hardbacks" for $10, instead of the standard $25. (Let me also add, as a side note, that E-ink is significantly better than the back-lit, migraine-inducing e- readers just for the novelty of color or an animated page turn.) Anyway, I find that my kindle is perfect for the fantasy and sci-fi that I like to read once and forget about. If I want to show off how cool and smart I am with a certain book then I prefer to own a nice looking paperback or hardback.
I have understood, intellectually, that bookstores are threatened by the Kindle, Nook, etc. Mom and Pop booksellers and small chain bookstores were already falling prey to the Book Giants like Borders and Barnes and Noble. I have seen two small used book stores die just from having a Borders in the neighborhood and both of those were actually chains as well. That was already happening five or six years ago. Now with Amazon.com dominating the book world of new books, used books, and e-books, even large chains are taking a hit. I can see why. My beloved Borders charged me $17.00 for the copy of The Odyssey I am reading right now. I looked up the sister volumes of The Iliad and The Aeneid on Amazon and realized I could have purchased all three for $9.00 a piece. Even trying to support bookstores, I can't pay double the price in good conscience. My ultimate fear, however, is that books themselves my eventually become a rarity. As bookstores are devoured by larger stores and those big stores are thinned out (as is happening to borders right this minute) by larger stores and online super-giants, the remaining stores are forced to reduce inventory to items they know will sell. Stores will have less available shelf-space for lower volume sales, and publishers have less money to contribute to either riskier authors (J.K. Rowling of the Harry potter series was considered a risky endeavor) or less money to pay out to new and existing authors in general. Suddenly your brick and mortar stores will become smaller and carry mostly big name sellers like the book isle at Walmart.
Now, with possibly lower pay outs or reduced new-author contracts being available, many new authors will rely on self publishing or may not publish at all. One way this is becoming evident is the concept of P.O.D. (print on demand) where the book is not printed until the order is placed. [Click here: Read this article! ] Why pay out huge contract bonuses when you can pay them by the book?
With E-readers and on-demand books on the horizon, this will definitely change how we shop for books. With less shelf space going to "midlist" books, fewer authors and publishing houses can rely on impulse buys. You will no longer get to flip through a book to see if you like it. In a bookstore, you can tell if a book has a chance in hell of being good just by its presence in a bookstore, some publisher was obviously willing to invest in it. This is not true with Amazon and the Kindle. Even if you can peruse the first few pages for free you may not be able to tell if this is a best seller or an amateur's first book. Amazon does not currently distinguish the two. (This does work in favor if new authors, however!) I love Amazon but I won't buy a book until I have seen it in the bookstore, am already aware of it from the grapevine, or am already familiar with the author. If I go in a bookstore I can see this new book with an interesting looking cover, pick it up, read the intro on the dust jacket and reviews on the back. I can feel how heavy it is and how thick the paper is and how many pages it has. With online shopping, all of this is lost.
Well, as you may have picked up so far, I am currently as guilty as anyone else for the demise of the bookstore, (then again I probably single-handedly keep a few in business too). I own a Kindle and use it, and, due to prices, I will actually go in a book store and look up the books I want then go home and buy it online for much less money. I try to supplement however. I will still buy actual books and I try to buy magazines and coffee to support the store itself. I give away or trade my old books to used bookstores, which keeps the book in circulation, at least, and may help the store turn a profit. (Although, this still affects the publisher on the back end.) Even using the Kindle still helps the publisher. What you need to do as readers is to remember not to take bookstores for granted, they are businesses and still have to make money. So do all of the people they get their books from, on down the line. Ultimately, it is important for everyone to keep reading, that is the biggest help. Secondly, you should try to support new and/or used bookstores in any way you can. If you drink their coffee while polishing off that magazine for free or working on your lap top, buy another magazine you haven't finished, or a discount book, or an overpriced piece of cake even. You are probably helping that store stay in business, more now than ever before.
Joe
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