Where are the bookstores?

Growing up, I always found bookstores to be exciting and fun places. Even now, I have tendency to disappear in a large bookstore until my wife has to have me pagedJ. The neighborhood stores are just as interesting, especially after you get to know the owners. Bookstores, in my opinion, have always been an important part of a neighborhood because it gave kids a good example and spurred learning.

There is nothing wrong with e-readers and tablets for reading books; they can be especially useful when you travel. However, nothing replaces the smell of a new book and the fun of browsing through the aisles to find it. So, where are the bookstores? Do you have a neighborhood one? Is there a big chain one near you? Not for long it seems, a headline today reads, “Barnes & Noble exec plans more store closings” (http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2013/01/28/barnes--noble-exec-plans-more-store-closings), even the big chains are having trouble (can you say Borders?).

What is the cause of this?  What can we do to save our bookstores? Why are not more people worried? What are those kids without an e-reader going to do if bookstores go away and how about kids in less developed parts of the world?

Watching my parents read books was always a good example for me growing up, and for that reason I credit my voracious appetites for books; I have passed on the example to my children. Technology is not bad, I like technology, but we should also be preserving the things that are good as well.

Physical books are good.

 

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam