In the town of Tillamook, Oregon . . .
A bookstore goes out of business.
Rainy Day Books, a local bookstore in Oregon, is forced to close its doors. (You are probably familiar with the Rainy Day Books here in Kansas too.)
Why?
Karen Spicer, the owner of the store, has worked there 6 days a week for 26 years. In the years past, she has had great success, and still has a handful of faithful customers who support her, but this is not enough to keep business going.
She says the signs started about 15 years ago, with Amazon. People started buying books online, and small bookstores now had to compete with that. She tried to adapt, but then came the Nook and Kindle. Ebooks, which have become increasingly popular - some people buy all of their books in digital format now. This is big trouble for small, local, and independent bookstores. They can hardly - if even - compete.
A bookstore goes out of business.
Rainy Day Books, a local bookstore in Oregon, is forced to close its doors. (You are probably familiar with the Rainy Day Books here in Kansas too.)
Why?
Karen Spicer, the owner of the store, has worked there 6 days a week for 26 years. In the years past, she has had great success, and still has a handful of faithful customers who support her, but this is not enough to keep business going.
She says the signs started about 15 years ago, with Amazon. People started buying books online, and small bookstores now had to compete with that. She tried to adapt, but then came the Nook and Kindle. Ebooks, which have become increasingly popular - some people buy all of their books in digital format now. This is big trouble for small, local, and independent bookstores. They can hardly - if even - compete.
Spicer says, “What people can’t get shopping online is the chance to wander the aisles and discover books that you never knew existed, to find a treasure, and encounter an author you haven’t read before. That’s what is lost in the digital age.”
To me, it's sad. I love bookstores. I want to support out local stores, and take the time to wander the aisles. Are books - the ones you can hold, feel, and smell - going 'out of fashion'? I hope not.
To see the article I have written about, visit this website.
I encourage you to visit a local bookstore and support them!
~Caroline M.
That is so sad! I like real books, not ebooks, because you can smell them, and feel the texture of the page. It's part of the story in the book.
ReplyDeleteI know. It totally is. You can flip through real books and see the whole thing at once. They are colorful and like you said! It's part of the story.
ReplyDeleteI am with you two girls! won't give up the real thing...love holding a good book in my hands and love even more seeing them on the shelf and remembering how much i enjoyed them.
ReplyDelete