It is no secret that independent bookstores are hurting and it is going to get worse. They have had to withstand competition from the the chain bookstores and online sellers (googlebooksellers will not help the situation). And now, if the reports are true, there is an explosion of e-books sales (the gifts of Kindle and the like cause the new owners to stock up). Predictions of bookstore closings in the new year are based on developments such as these.
In the midst of this, I received a letter from the oldest independent bookstore in Ithaca (Buffalo Street Books - formerly the Bookery), announcing that they are becoming a non-profit in order to qualify for grants and soliciting donations. Independent bookstores that survive are transforming into community centers. Authors come to speak about their books; public bookclubs are formed (I think Buffalo has eight clubs going); and there is space to make reading comfortable. I do not know if my local bookstore will make it, but I hope so. Meanwhile for photos of many excellent independent bookstores, see here and here.
Perry, thanks for the link. I did not know that Google was going to
permit independent booksellers to sell e-books on their sites. Not sure
how that will work in terms of the finances.
Patrick, thanks for the tip on Chaucers. A couple of years ago my wife
and I drove through Santa Barbara on the way to Seattle (stopping at
the great Mexican restaurant the one in a shack that Julia Childs said
was her favorite), but we did not know where to find a good bookstore
to go to. Alas, you are right about Los Angeles. Duttons was the best
(particularly the Brentwood location - there were three), but there are
a very few decent ones left, but none that rival Powells in Portland
Posted by: Steve Shiffrin | 12/16/2010 at 09:38 AM
At the Chaucer's site, be sure to click on the video about the new book from Macduff Everton, the introduction to which was written by my good friend (his mother, Nandini, is my best friend!), Pico Iyer.
Posted by: Patrick S. O'Donnell | 12/16/2010 at 08:17 AM
I was happy to see Chaucer's Books* among the readers' photo submissions, as that's where I do all my new book buying (i.e., spend the bulk of whatever discretionary income we have in our budget). The Book Den** downtown is the best--and California's oldest--of the used bookstores in town. I've been a loyal customer of Chaucer's since 1977 (it opened several years before I moved to Santa Barbara). I know Los Angeles has lost a high number of quality indedpendent bookstores over the last decade or so.
* http://www.chaucersbooks.com/
** http://www.bookden.com/
Posted by: Patrick S. O'Donnell | 12/16/2010 at 08:06 AM
Steve, there's an argument that's at least floating around that independent bookstores actually have a brighter future right now than the big chains. http://www.npr.org/2010/12/14/132026420/end-of-days-for-bookstores-not-if-they-can-help-it
If true, it's either one of those grand cosmic ironies or a sign of a brand new economic ecology in which the internet and bricks-and-mortar commerce play distinct and redefined but interacting roles.
Posted by: Perry Dane | 12/16/2010 at 07:02 AM