Borders Books: A painful time to be a megabookstore

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Canada's big chain bigstore, Indigo, is making a comeback.

https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/05/24/the-bookstore-makes-a-comeback.html

Quote:

It’s the first store the chain has opened in more than five years, and follows a series of high-profile Indigo closures that included the Runnymede Theatre store, the World’s Biggest Bookstore and the location at John St. and Richmond St. W. in downtown Toronto.

“So many people were writing Indigo off,” said Reisman. “The key is to reinvent, to create a new vision and to go to that vision with real conviction.”

Reisman said sales of physical books grew eight per cent last year, which is creating a cautious optimism among Canadian booksellers.

1 Reply

@ehBeth,

theres a real ultra- clinical feeling to e-books. use em rarely. I dont read at the beach, or when Im a passenger (reading makes me nauseous in anything moving).
The only time Ive e-booked is late at night in bed. Otherwise, in bed, we would often listen to a book or a wifi taped "Big Broadcast" (these are old radio programs that WAMU does on Sunday nights and ill put em up on a wifi radio.

I even like magazines in paper. But of course, Ive been told that "only old people read paper".
However , now , even vinyl records are coming back.

2 Replies

@farmerman,

farmerman wrote:

I even like magazines in paper. But of course, Ive been told that "only old people read paper".

I guess I'm old then. Other then my Audible account and the digital audiobooks I listen to, all my magazine subscriptions are print and I never read ebooks (on my phone or my Kindle ... though to be fair, I'm not sure where that went...).

I still subscribe to New York Magazine, pick up Time Out NY every week (since they're free and no longer mailed weekly), subscribe to Automobile Magazine, get Brooklyn Magazine free in the mail, subscribe to National Geographic and Dwell (an architecture and design) magazine, and thinking about returning to either Art News and/or Art in America Magazines.

1 Reply

@farmerman,

farmerman wrote:

But of course, Ive been told that "only old people read paper".
However , now , even vinyl records are coming back.

They are! My kid and friends went to Barnes and Noble last night -- for fun -- and bought books and vinyl there. One of them has a record player, the others want one. (We have an ancient one we've been planning to get back on its feet, we haven't yet though.)

Generally I'd say e-readers aren't much used within her cohort. Not everyone reads for fun but the ones who do overwhelmingly read paper books. Assigned school reading is also paper books. There is a lot of online reading as well but more in the category of news articles or study guides.

1 Reply

@sozobe,

we keep Barnes and Noble stock a viable investment. Every time we go we glom onto a whole bunch of art and other mags, then we have lunch or some kinda snack.

0 Replies

@tsarstepan,

I liten to audio books in the vehicles. I just asked the library to put me on the list to get the last of the "Mr Mercedes" trilogy by Stephen King.

I knew that guy was faking his catatony

0 Replies