Sad State of Affairs…
When I read on Publishers Lunch yesterday that the B. Dalton Booksellers in Laredo, TX was closing, thereby giving that town of a quarter-million people the piteous distinction of being the largest city in the nation without a single bookseller, I was horrified. No bookshops to browse? No aisles of books to peruse? No chance to page through the glossy picture books or riffle through the heavy paper pages of a trade paperback? Egad! I felt for those people.
But then on my walk today, I was still emphathizing, and I realized that these folks are completely bereft. After all, I’m sure they still have a Walmart, Target, Best Buy…maybe even a Costco or Sam’s, not to mention a few grocery and drug stores that carry books. Not that these establishments could in any way replace a bookstore–certainly not–but they’re something at least. Those Texans will be okay. They’ll visit the library and do roadtrips to other Texas cities who can still lay claim to a Barnes & Noble or Borders. They’ll be okay. Amazon will necessarily become their best friend. I’ll be thinking of those less fortunate this holiday season…
12/19/2009 at 9:09 am
My buddy Gary Dobbs in the UK had a post yesterday about Borders closing in his area.
Print is dying. No question about it.
12/19/2009 at 6:44 pm
Note to self: Never move to Laredo, TX.
My favorite thing about Ann Arbor is how many bookstores we have, both chain and independent. Though we did lose one of my favorite bookstores this year and the Borders Express in the mall is closing too.
12/20/2009 at 11:39 am
weird so many people no bookshop?
I've never known a town over about 5000 that didn't have a bookshop.
12/20/2009 at 2:30 pm
I think I'd go crazy. I used to visit a boyfriend in a town that only had a Hastings and while Hastings is at least something it drove me crazy not having a B&N.
When hunting for a future house I think "bookstore within 10 minutes" should go on my list of requirements.
12/21/2009 at 2:12 pm
Urgh..
12/22/2009 at 6:50 pm
That is awful. No bookstore? How wrong. Poor, poor people.
12/23/2009 at 7:42 pm
Its so sad, we have had the same happen here in Scotland,UK with Borders which was a wondeful place to have coffee and browse. Where to take my children now to show them(and let them actually touch and smell..)books?
http://www.scribblingmum.co.uk/blog