From the New York Times, news of the final closure of the recently-reopened Coliseum Books in mid-town Manhattan; in Dallas the closing of the thirty-year old Black Images Book Bazarre; in Seattle Wessell & Lieberman Pioneer Square is closing; in Salem Oregon, Jacksons Books is closing; and to sum it up, Reuters gives us an overall review of the dismal situation of indie bookstores in the year past.
Maybe those of you who care about the demise of the indies (no need to pay attention Wal-Mart shoppers) can resolve to try to patronize the dwindling rank of remaining independent bookstores in 2007.
Books to Read
Rebel Bookseller: How to Improvise Your Own Indie Store and Beat Back the Chains
Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop
How to Improve the Brick and Mortar Bookstore
Blog entry.
How to Improve the Brick and Mortar Bookstore Experience
Re:How to Improve the Brick and Mortar Bookstore
A later blog entry:
More on Improving the Brick and Mortar Bookstore Experience
From the New York Times article.
From the New York Times article:
George S. Leibson, a founding partner and the principal executive of Coliseum Books has some interesting quotes in the article.
“Running a bookstore is like running an insane asylum”
What’s more, Mr. Leibson said, fewer people read for pleasure and fewer people read for reference, and those who do are dying off.
It’s Getting Harder to Hate Wal-Mart
Maybe those of you who care about the demise of the indies (no need to pay attention Wal-Mart shoppers) can resolve to try to patronize the dwindling rank of remaining independent bookstores in 2007.
Article at the right wing website treehugger.com 😉
It’s Getting Harder to Hate Wal-Mart
Re:It’s Getting Harder to Hate Wal-Mart
They say they’re committed to plans to improve their environment-friendly approaches, but some of them may never be achievable.
The horse is out of the barn; the trees are cut down, the earth is paved over. Who hasn’t seen the acres marred by big box stores that are closed, and remain so seemingly for years and years? Call me a snob, call me an elitest, but I still don’t find it the least bit hard to hate Wal-Mart and what they’ve done to retailing, employee benefits and the environment in this country. I like the term the article uses in supposing what Wal-Mart management is attempting–they’re greenwashing us.