Books and Bookstores

[Sheilbh]

Foyles is owned by Waterstones.

Explains the weird semi-chainisation.

I love exploring such shops but they're a dying breed. My book buying is largely on amazon these days.

Weirdly the village my mum and dad live in, which has one Londis and one pub also has a second hand book shop. Apparently abebooks and a side-hustle in antiquarian books keeps them going, because I've never seen anyone in there (except for me ).

[The Minsky Moment]

I prefer electronic versions of books as that way I can carry all my books with me wherever I go.  And it always remembers my place.

I'm old enough to remember when Barnes & Noble was just 2 stores in Manhattan - the big main store on 5th Avenue and an annex.  That was a great store - a destination it itself.  That store was closed a few years ago.  "B&N" was just a leverage of the brand name applied to various acquisitions (BDalton etc) and expansion initiatives to malls and campuses. I remember the first time I went into an ersatz Barnes & Noble and was disappointed how little it resembled the real thing.

The town I live in now had an independent bookstore - I did shop at that one. It survived the competition from the B&Ns and Amazons of the world, but it couldn't survive a big rent increase from the landlord.

[merithyn]

I live in Portland, home of Powell's Books.

https://www.powells.com/

[crazy canuck]

There were three great independent book stores within 2 blocks of my office in the 90s.  I used to spend way too much time going to each of them and buying arm fulls of books.  The staff in those stores were super helpful and knowledgeable.  They always suggested additional titles/authors I would like and they were almost always right.  Those stores all went bankrupt in the 2000s.  I then went to Indigo/Chapters - they tried but it was not the same.  Now those stores have largely disappeared and I buy electronic books.

[garbon]

Foyles is owned by Waterstones.

Explains the weird semi-chainisation.

I love exploring such shops but they're a dying breed. My book buying is largely on amazon these days.

Weirdly the village my mum and dad live in, which has one Londis and one pub also has a second hand book shop. Apparently abebooks and a side-hustle in antiquarian books keeps them going, because I've never seen anyone in there (except for me ).

Yes, I was quite sad when I learned it had been purchased. Sale to Waterstones happened in 2018.

[ulmont]

I prefer electronic versions of books as that way I can carry all my books with me wherever I go.  And it always remembers my place.

Same, but also this means that I can store all my books in my tiny house.

[Caliga]

I only read books on my Kindle now.  Physical books are for old people.

[The Brain]

Real books rule. Fucking millenials.

[Caliga]

Ok boomer.

[Grey Fox]

I don't read many books on dead trees but when I do, I get them from the library or Costco.

[HisMajestyBOB]

Mostly Amazon. However, I've recently started getting books just from the library, and only buying those with a long waitlist or that are unavailable.

[PDH]

I miss the Tattered Cover

[Sheilbh]

I only read books on my Kindle now.  Physical books are for old people.

Young folk are least likely to buy e-books (publishers put in an effort nowadays so physical books look nice + a Kindle isn't as instagrammable)

I have a Kindle which I use for some books so have a mix. There's no need to be absolutist about either.

[Razgovory]

Mostly my on my Kindle.  There aren't exactly many independent book stores in town.  There's a local place that sells books and toys, a place that sells religious tracts, and a place that sells comic books.  That's pretty much it.

[dps]

I marked that I buy at chains, but that really applied to when I lived in NC.  There aren't any chains located out here in rural Indiana, and I guess if I want to buy any new books now I'll have to drive about 30 miles (there is a local used book store I need to check out).

I haven't lived anywhere that had a decent bookstore (at least for new books) in a long time. 

I don't think I've ever bought a book on-line.