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I agree with the beginning, especially about the deck chairs as its an expression I often use. Let's be clear its people like me who killed Barnes and Noble not

I agree with the beginning, especially about the deck chairs as its an expression I often use. Let's be clear its people like me who killed Barnes and Noble not its executives. I have two or three sets of bookshelves downstairs in my office filled with books, many of which were bought at B&N. I spent hours sipping coffee in their cafe's. Then I bought my kindle. And I basically have not been back since. When I do buy a physical book it is typically a rare math or finance book which B&N is not going to carry. And my life is richer for it. I bought two books today for my kindle that were mentioned on a podcast I was listening to. B&N is just a dead company that has not gone out of business yet and I agree that there is little to nothing that can be done to keep it existing in its current form. The company today is only worth $340M dollars. Maybe it could restructure as some sort of higher end boutique store, but that would probably require a significant downsizing and realignment. Its hard to see a positive way forward but maybe someone else will.

curun1r 9y ago
The tragedy, for me, is that while I agree with most of what you've said and my transition to ebooks has been similar to yours, I've also begun realizing what we're losing by moving away from brick-and-mortar retail. I look back on my childhood in the 80s and 90s and remember retail as not only fulfilling the need of acquiring stuff but also as a central meeting place. Going downtown to buy stuff was an activity as much as it was an errand. There were movie theaters, restaurants and all sorts of other business that existed in an symbiotic ecosystem with all the retail outlets. Over time, each of these business has been or is being replaced by a more-efficient, internet version of itself. We now order more and more food delivery rather than eating out. We now stream more of our entertainment in our homes and many people haven't been to a theater more than a couple of times per year. And while none of these shifts is bad in and of itself, the common theme is that we've replaced the social version of each of them with a version that we use alone, interacting only with a computer and not another human being. I don't think it's a coincidence that we're having an epidemic of drug addiction and overdose considering how often drug addiction is a side effect of lack of human connection. We've taken all of these services and removed the human interaction and I think we're seeing that that human interaction was more than just fulfilling a transactional need. It was also keeping us sane in minuscule increments that, overall, added up to something tangible. It's a tough duality for me to accept. I love my Kindle and I find the reading experience to be so much nicer than a physical book. On a recent year-long trip abroad, I was able to bring enough books for the entire trip and it weighed less than a single physical book. In one sense, it was great. Every book I read was something I wanted to read and I probably enjoyed them more because of it. On my first prolonged trip abroad back in the late 90s, I could only bring a couple of books with me. After I'd finished them, I had to find people to trade with to get new books. I probably didn't enjoy those books as much as ones I would've selected for myself, but I also ended up reading things I'd never have even considered reading before because I just didn't have any other options. There's a distinct part of me--the person that's able to look beyond the immediate fulfillment of my needs--that thinks that things were much better back in the days where stuff cost a bit more, it took more time to buy and I had to actually talk to a person to buy it.
- eclipxe 9y ago
  Yet on the flip side, here we are in the public square of HN having deep meaningful conversations about he world around us and sharing nostalgia. The future giveth and the future taketh.
- internetman55 9y ago
  I go to movie theaters pretty much all the time for that reason. I wanna go where people are and not sit in my house. Plus usually Netflix doesn't have any shows i care that much about watching except for oa or a backstreet boys documentary
- sseveran 9y ago
  I too remember with fondness going to the 2600 meetup at a B&N. I am not sure I would link drug addiction to the lack of people going to bookstores, but I do agree that they were a social place as well and I used them as such. Some of this may be the lack of companies reinventing themselves. I am more likely to go see a movie now that the one near my house has reserved seats. I would be more inclined if they served adult beverages and maybe something a bit more advanced than a hot dog or nachos. There are theaters that I have seen that I could see myself going to if they were near my house. Maybe there is a model of a bookstore that I would be inclined to go to should it pop into existence.
andrewla 9y ago
I can't say how much of an effect customers like us -- people who owned a ton of books but have switched to the Kindle -- have had on the bottom line of Barnes and Noble, but my experience completely echoes yours. I even find myself purchasing books on the Kindle that I already own in physical form just for the improved experience. The main thing I miss is browsing for books; the experience on the Kindle or on the web is terrible compared to walking down an aisle and flipping through books that draw my interest. I have young children now, so I purchase a fair number of physical books for them, mostly through Amazon, but occasionally browsing in our local Barnes and Noble. Whenever I'm there, I find myself rooting through the shelves, finding all sorts of interesting books that I want to buy, and then I guiltily take a picture of them to buy on Amazon later for my kindle. EDIT: One thing I have noticed, though, is the increase in price gouging in ebook sales. I think a result of the Hachette deal; lots of things that would have been $6 mass-market paperbacks are instead $10. Unfortunately, this is not local to Amazon, so leaving the ecosystem is no help at all.
creep 9y ago
In Canada we have Chpaters-Indigo instead of Barnes and Noble. They stock very expensive, but very attractive, home design crap (think pottery barn minus the furniture). They also sell scarves, mitts, slippers, fragrances, purses, chocolates, and children's toys. Basically a convenience store for these items, and they have a regular turn-around so they always sell new versions of all this stuff. It's working very well, and I don't know if Barnes and Noble does this too but Chapters-Indigo is actually expanding where I live. People still like going to the store for physical books-- it's something about the atmosphere-- but they definitely need a little push to stay, and another reason to be there.

curun1r 9y ago

The tragedy, for me, is that while I agree with most of what you've said and my transition to ebooks has been similar to yours, I've also begun realizing what we're losing by moving away from brick-and-mortar retail. I look back on my childhood in the 80s and 90s and remember retail as not only fulfilling the need of acquiring stuff but also as a central meeting place. Going downtown to buy stuff was an activity as much as it was an errand. There were movie theaters, restaurants and all sorts of other business that existed in an symbiotic ecosystem with all the retail outlets. Over time, each of these business has been or is being replaced by a more-efficient, internet version of itself. We now order more and more food delivery rather than eating out. We now stream more of our entertainment in our homes and many people haven't been to a theater more than a couple of times per year. And while none of these shifts is bad in and of itself, the common theme is that we've replaced the social version of each of them with a version that we use alone, interacting only with a computer and not another human being. I don't think it's a coincidence that we're having an epidemic of drug addiction and overdose considering how often drug addiction is a side effect of lack of human connection. We've taken all of these services and removed the human interaction and I think we're seeing that that human interaction was more than just fulfilling a transactional need. It was also keeping us sane in minuscule increments that, overall, added up to something tangible. It's a tough duality for me to accept. I love my Kindle and I find the reading experience to be so much nicer than a physical book. On a recent year-long trip abroad, I was able to bring enough books for the entire trip and it weighed less than a single physical book. In one sense, it was great. Every book I read was something I wanted to read and I probably enjoyed them more because of it. On my first prolonged trip abroad back in the late 90s, I could only bring a couple of books with me. After I'd finished them, I had to find people to trade with to get new books. I probably didn't enjoy those books as much as ones I would've selected for myself, but I also ended up reading things I'd never have even considered reading before because I just didn't have any other options. There's a distinct part of me--the person that's able to look beyond the immediate fulfillment of my needs--that thinks that things were much better back in the days where stuff cost a bit more, it took more time to buy and I had to actually talk to a person to buy it.

eclipxe 9y ago
Yet on the flip side, here we are in the public square of HN having deep meaningful conversations about he world around us and sharing nostalgia. The future giveth and the future taketh.
internetman55 9y ago
I go to movie theaters pretty much all the time for that reason. I wanna go where people are and not sit in my house. Plus usually Netflix doesn't have any shows i care that much about watching except for oa or a backstreet boys documentary
sseveran 9y ago
I too remember with fondness going to the 2600 meetup at a B&N. I am not sure I would link drug addiction to the lack of people going to bookstores, but I do agree that they were a social place as well and I used them as such. Some of this may be the lack of companies reinventing themselves. I am more likely to go see a movie now that the one near my house has reserved seats. I would be more inclined if they served adult beverages and maybe something a bit more advanced than a hot dog or nachos. There are theaters that I have seen that I could see myself going to if they were near my house. Maybe there is a model of a bookstore that I would be inclined to go to should it pop into existence.

andrewla 9y ago

I can't say how much of an effect customers like us -- people who owned a ton of books but have switched to the Kindle -- have had on the bottom line of Barnes and Noble, but my experience completely echoes yours. I even find myself purchasing books on the Kindle that I already own in physical form just for the improved experience. The main thing I miss is browsing for books; the experience on the Kindle or on the web is terrible compared to walking down an aisle and flipping through books that draw my interest. I have young children now, so I purchase a fair number of physical books for them, mostly through Amazon, but occasionally browsing in our local Barnes and Noble. Whenever I'm there, I find myself rooting through the shelves, finding all sorts of interesting books that I want to buy, and then I guiltily take a picture of them to buy on Amazon later for my kindle. EDIT: One thing I have noticed, though, is the increase in price gouging in ebook sales. I think a result of the Hachette deal; lots of things that would have been $6 mass-market paperbacks are instead $10. Unfortunately, this is not local to Amazon, so leaving the ecosystem is no help at all.

creep 9y ago

In Canada we have Chpaters-Indigo instead of Barnes and Noble. They stock very expensive, but very attractive, home design crap (think pottery barn minus the furniture). They also sell scarves, mitts, slippers, fragrances, purses, chocolates, and children's toys. Basically a convenience store for these items, and they have a regular turn-around so they always sell new versions of all this stuff. It's working very well, and I don't know if Barnes and Noble does this too but Chapters-Indigo is actually expanding where I live. People still like going to the store for physical books-- it's something about the atmosphere-- but they definitely need a little push to stay, and another reason to be there.