Out of Borders' Ashes: An Indie Bookstore Battle Plan

[Shadow]

My daughter and I went hunting for a book she wanted yesterday...and I realized that there just aren't many book stores left here anymore. I think there are maybe three that cater to selling new books. Hastings,Barnes and Noble and Page One. If they don't have what you are looking for you pretty much end up buying online. So...Would you pay a little extra for your books to keep an independant bookstore alive?



Out of Borders' Ashes: An Indie Bookstore Battle Plan


Here’s the plotline: A celebrated author grieves for her home town as one big bookstore after another shuts down. Then she opens her own plucky little bookstore and makes it a howling success. That’s the real-world business story novelist Ann Patchett is trying to write in Nashville, where Borders closed this year and readers still mourn the loss of a beloved independent bookstore, Davis-Kidd.
Patchett, author of the bestseller "Bel Canto," committed $300,000 to launch an independent bookstore after the last Nashville store selling new titles was gone. Case in point: Because there was no bookstore in her hometown of Nashville for fans to buy her latest novel, "State of Wonder," it had been propped up in the shop window where she gets her clothes altered, giving the tailor shop a busy side business in book sales.

Snip:


It's not that she was looking to be the owner of a small business, but when she met Hayes, who was taking early retirement from her job at Random House, and was looking for her next career, Patchett realized she could be a driving force behind the effort.


And although she didn’t set out to be a public advocate for independent bookstores, Patchett has embraced that role.
The novelist now tells people they don’t have to accept the inevitable loss of bookstores. “Be willing to pay a little more for your book, and you get a smart person to recommend books, jobs for your community, and a tax base,’’ she said.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45354307

[Abbey Marie]

I so miss those little book stores with books piled all over. All we have left is a used book store, and a Barnes & Noble. I guess I contributed to the problem by buying a good bit from Amazon.

[Kathianne]

Well my personal economy has finally halted my book buying obsession. Oh I still read, just use the library and online books for free. Even if I don't get out to get the books and want to lay on the sofa and read, I've at least 25 boxes of books and 3 closet shelves full of books.

However, we do have some very good used bookstores around these parts and one long standing independent, Anderson's Bookshop (http://www.andersonsbookshop.com/). They've a phenomenal childrens department and feature local authors. Great store!

[ConHog]

"Me Abbey, me read book"


LOL Sorry Abbey just a little riff off the "me pete, me use pen" commercials. But the reality is books are a dead format. I just bought myself an IPAD2 and not only can it hold 14,000 books, I can buy them and download them directly to the thing. Is it the same thing as holding a book in your hands? No, but it certainly does have it's advantages.

In 10 years there will be no paper books.

[ConHog]

Well my personal economy has finally halted my book buying obsession. Oh I still read, just use the library and online books for free. Even if I don't get out to get the books and want to lay on the sofa and read, I've at least 25 boxes of books and 3 closet shelves full of books.

However, we do have some very good used bookstores around these parts and one long standing independent, Anderson's Bookshop (http://www.andersonsbookshop.com/). They've a phenomenal childrens department and feature local authors. Great store!

I'm a HUGE reader, no telling how many books I have. It's easily over a thousand and I've given boxes and boxes of books to the local library. I'm actually going to give them most all of my books both to clear some space and to increase their inventory. Just doing it a box or two at a time so they can absorb them into the system rather than here's a thousand books all at one time. lol

E books is the way to go as far as I'm concerned.

[Shadow]

"Me Abbey, me read book"


LOL Sorry Abbey just a little riff off the "me pete, me use pen" commercials. But the reality is books are a dead format. I just bought myself an IPAD2 and not only can it hold 14,000 books, I can buy them and download them directly to the thing. Is it the same thing as holding a book in your hands? No, but it certainly does have it's advantages.

In 10 years there will be no paper books.

Not me...I want to hold that book in my hands...look at the cover and read all the inserts (plus use all my fun book markers). I probably have enough books to keep me busy for the rest of my life though, so don't really need a kindle or IPAD anyway. Just bought three more tonight (buy two get one free deal at Barnes and Noble).

[Shadow]

I so miss those little book stores with books piled all over. All we have left is a used book store, and a Barnes & Noble. I guess I contributed to the problem by buying a good bit from Amazon.

I liked them because you could sometimes find books you can't at other places that order in bulk. Like right now we are looking for one that I think may be out of print. they even cancelled it from an order I placed on Amazon saying it was no longer availabe from their supplier.

[Kathianne]

I liked them because you could sometimes find books you can't at other places that order in bulk. Like right now we are looking for one that I think may be out of print. they even cancelled it from an order I placed on Amazon saying it was no longer availabe from their supplier.

It's been a couple years since I was in Anderson's bookstore, but they did have an 'out of print search service' then. Really good bookstores always do. Try them.

[Noir]

I'm a HUGE reader, no telling how many books I have. It's easily over a thousand and I've given boxes and boxes of books to the local library. I'm actually going to give them most all of my books both to clear some space and to increase their inventory. Just doing it a box or two at a time so they can absorb them into the system rather than here's a thousand books all at one time. lol

E books is the way to go as far as I'm concerned.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j176/jonathan-mcc/ereader.jpg

[gabosaurus]

My daughter is smart enough not to buy into the e-reader crap. She likes to flip through books and look at the photos, as well as checking out various pages to determine if the reading level is above what she can handle.
My husband spends eight or more hours per day staring at a computer screen. He doesn't care for the idea of coming home and then staring at another screen. He likes his books.
Not to mention the fact that browsing through book stores is one of the pleasures of life. You can go through a used book store and discover things you didn't know existed. When I go to Dallas or Austin, I always stop at Half Price Books. You can roam through those places forever.
Don't even get me started on The Strand in NYC. :cool:

[Kathianne]

My daughter is smart enough not to buy into the e-reader crap. She likes to flip through books and look at the photos, as well as checking out various pages to determine if the reading level is above what she can handle.
My husband spends eight or more hours per day staring at a computer screen. He doesn't care for the idea of coming home and then staring at another screen. He likes his books.
Not to mention the fact that browsing through book stores is one of the pleasures of life. You can go through a used book store and discover things you didn't know existed. When I go to Dallas or Austin, I always stop at Half Price Books. You can roam through those places forever.
Don't even get me started on The Strand in NYC. :cool:

If not mistaken, your point is that your daughter, husband, yourself are mucho superior regarding all other choices, regardless of books, ereaders, or other. Got it.

There was a point where I thought you were human, my mistake.