4 ms·

I'm not certain that bookstores are going to be put out of business quite as thoroughly as record stores have been. Music is a bit different from books. It's

by adriand 17y ago

I'm not certain that bookstores are going to be put out of business quite as thoroughly as record stores have been. Music is a bit different from books. It's actually easier and better for me to have my music in digital format, because then I can play it where and when I like. When it was on records or CDs, it was still getting converted into electric signals before it came out of the speakers, so the medium is unimportant. On the other hand, I like having physical books. I enjoy the medium. I also like having good books in bookshelves, I think it looks good and they're nice to have around (like fine art and furniture, fine books tell you something about people - that might be elitist, but I'm not afraid of that label). Certainly book stores will be under a lot of pressure. But interestingly enough, the small book store that opened up near my home recently has been getting me books that are cheaper than what I've found online. Mainly this is because they do not charge me shipping (their books arrive in bulk orders, presumably shipping is spread out that way). I've been finding books online, and then emailing the owner to get her to order them in for me!

dagw 17y ago
Books have another advantage over CDs in that they are easier to browse in store. If I'm walking through a book store and see a book that looks interesting it's easy to pick up and quickly read a bit to see if it interests me. No one ever really solved that problem with CDs. I often walk into a book store with no real plan of buying anything and walk out with a book or two I happened to spot and decided that I wanted after reading a bit.
- mechanical_fish 17y ago
  No one ever really solved that problem with CDs. Or, rather, the problem was solved by inventing online music distribution. If I want to sample a CD I look for it online. It is just so much better than a listening station in a store. (I don't think I ever used one of those, even when I used to go into music stores.)

by adriand 17y ago

dagw 17y ago

Books have another advantage over CDs in that they are easier to browse in store. If I'm walking through a book store and see a book that looks interesting it's easy to pick up and quickly read a bit to see if it interests me. No one ever really solved that problem with CDs. I often walk into a book store with no real plan of buying anything and walk out with a book or two I happened to spot and decided that I wanted after reading a bit.

mechanical_fish 17y ago
No one ever really solved that problem with CDs. Or, rather, the problem was solved by inventing online music distribution. If I want to sample a CD I look for it online. It is just so much better than a listening station in a store. (I don't think I ever used one of those, even when I used to go into music stores.)