A response to Barnes and Noble: A Tribute

[wasureneba]

I don't usually spend a lot of time reading the New Republic very often, but my, I have fallen in love with Barnes and Noble, a Tribute: What the reviled chain did for our literary culture. I grew up in a very rural area, and I remember the oasis that B&N, Waldenbooks, Borders, and all the other chain book stores offered. Where I grew up, there are

Comments

[tsukkomi_boke]

I love that about bookstores. I miss doing it, to be honest, or even going to a public library and not a university one. And it is so sad that this is disappearing from the American culture and e-books definitely aren't the same.

[wasureneba]

I'm so lucky that I live in a town with a few very vibrant bookshops---it's so pleasing. I like the university library fine, and our public library is decent, but our bookshops are where people really interact with each other, sans fear of shushing.

I love e-books, and I think there's a lot of great possibilities with digital media, but it's difficult to beat the wonder that is shelves upon shelves of books.