Sunday, January 29, 2012

Barnes and Noble: Saving the industry one book at a time

Bookstores have always been one of my favorite places to escape. Some of my favorite memories are of my mom and me sitting around for hours with nothing but drinking coffee and reading magazines on our agenda. But with the closing of Borders this past Summer, I can't help but feel like we're living in a Fahrenheit 451-kinda world, and I'm greatly concerned that our Sunday bookstore dates will soon disappear (and so might really cook cakes like this one from Charm City Cakes - heavens no!). 



In a world without paper books, publishers will become nearly obsolete. It's kind of terrifying to envision myself living in a world where I'll read my children stories on a tablet, kids won't enjoy dog-earring where they stopped reading, and the doors to libraries will open and close with less and less frequency. I just read that with the creation of television, critics were worried that consumers would become isolated from the rest of the world. If only they could have foreseen a world where bookstores would be fighting to keep their existence. 

When deciding between the Nook and the Kindle, I am most definitely drawn toward the Kindle, simply because who knows how much longer Barnes and Noble will even be around. I can't say I've got too much hope. 

Check out this piece from the NY Times about why it's up to Barnes and Noble 
to save the industry!

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