tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3114873833839278910.post1046976984279832821..comments2023-08-26T06:24:00.597-06:00Comments on A Reasonable Imagination: Do Local Bookstores Deserve to Die?Robert Velardehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03665635776181855486noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3114873833839278910.post-34965034721806862392009-04-15T23:03:00.000-06:002009-04-15T23:03:00.000-06:00I worked in libraries for several years and loved ...I worked in libraries for several years and loved being surrounded by books. My home is something like than now -- books all over the place. As Cicero said, "A room without books is like a body without a soul." I do lament the loss of good bookstores. And I would like them to survive. But they are dwindling.Robert Velardehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665635776181855486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3114873833839278910.post-48359679227573844632009-04-14T17:47:00.000-06:002009-04-14T17:47:00.000-06:00It is a terrible shame. I used to work at Borders,...It <I>is</I> a terrible shame. I used to work at Borders, years ago, and I liked it precisely because was comfortable (as compared to the more traditional, almost library-like Barnes & Noble), and therefore less formal.<br /><br />My wife still works at Borders now, and she used to be the special orders clerk of the store. But everything's changed. Not only has her job been phased out (Jeff LaSalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12153375419154912732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3114873833839278910.post-7343359204467088832009-04-14T13:47:00.000-06:002009-04-14T13:47:00.000-06:00It's a shame to watch the downtown stores die. For...It's a shame to watch the downtown stores die. For a variety of reasons, they just keep dropping off. But some have survived by adapting. Some of the most successful bookstores (like Barnes and Noble or locally in COS, Poor Richards) have married coffee to the selling of books. And it has done them well.<br />In a capitalist society, theoretically one only survives on merit. This may not be as pBerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08279749056616554091noreply@blogger.com