Vanishing Bookstores?

[Perturabo]

ORIGINAL: bairdlander

I should have said,I meant graphic novels and manga.Think they will ever go digital?

They went digital long time ago. There are even sites where you can browse digitalized manga for free. Still, it isn't the same as the real thing, so I buy physical version even though I can read the digital ones for free.

[jomni]

Well in Japan, print media is still thriving to a certain degree.  Those online manga sites are kinda illegal.

[Perturabo]

Legal or illegal, people still use them. And those of them who become fans of some series usually still want to get the paper version. Since a large enough number of people wants to buy them even when having access to a free electronic version, I don't think there's a chance of physical comic books disappearing due to electronic versions getting sold.

[Jeffrey H.]

TBH I don't go to bookstores any longer. I didn't like the crowds but it was a nice way to spend an afternoon now and then. I buy everything online, especially true for obscure old technical books, which I never would have found without modern technology.

[Phatguy]

Books in the Osprey and Concord style can only be savoured as physical copies......

[JWW]

ORIGINAL: Joe D.

Most bookstores require a good deal of room to display a large selection of books; apparently that's not cost effective when compared to the bandwidth that an on-line catalog requires.

It looks like the Inet is now doing to books what it did to the daily newspaper; as a former journalist, I think we're both becoming extinct.

However, I find the local newspaper an invaluable source of local info I can't get anywhere else, not even with the online newspaper. Browsing through the Sunday paper I see ads and notices and small local stories that I would miss just looking online.

[redcoat]

ORIGINAL: apathetic lurker

Books in the Osprey and Concord style can only be savoured as physical copies......

+1

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: Jeffrey H.

TBH I don't go to bookstores any longer. I didn't like the crowds ...

Crowds aren't a problem any more.

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: JW

However, I find the local newspaper an invaluable source of local info I can't get anywhere else, not even with the online newspaper ...

Even the local rags here are on-line, but sometimes they run stories only available in print to justify those who pay subscription fees.

[Perturabo]

I don't like reading newspapers - their paper articles don't have a comment section that would call them out on any lies that they write.

[amps63]

We had a really nice Borders at our local mall. It's gone of course. So are the jobs of the people that worked there and all the other Borders that closed. To me that's the most depressing part.

[Jeffrey H.]

ORIGINAL: Perturabo

I don't like reading newspapers - their paper articles don't have a comment section that would call them out on any lies that they write.

Exactly, and no way to have unscreened contradicting opinions or discussion. It's the old stranglehold on media that papers, TV and radio used to have.

[Lützow]

I see the slow demise of book-trade altogether. Ebooks make publishers obsolete and since .pdf-files are small, many people will rather pirate instead of wasting money. In the end everybody is going to lose - sale, author and reader likewise.

Who would pay a regular price for newspapers anymore? I recently subscribed one for 2.99 a month, to have it abroad on the iPhone. It's nice to get stuff cheap, but publishers can't survive on the long term with dumping fees.

[Perturabo]

ORIGINAL: Lützow

I see the slow demise of book-trade altogether. Ebooks make publishers obsolete and since .pdf-files are small, many people will rather pirate instead of wasting money. In the end everybody is going to lose - sale, author and reader likewise.

Libraries exist for this since decades and they didn't make publishers disappear. There were always people who want to just read books and people who want to own them. And libraries were much "worse" than .pdfs as they offer the physical book. Bookstores are dying out because people no longer are interested in paying for another step in retail chain and putting up with extremely limited choice of books.

[Lützow]

You don't see a difference between copying a physical book and a .pdf?

[Fred98]

I cannot search for a book on-line unless I already know that book exists. And the most common way to find out is to browse a book store.

Having found an interesting book, sometimes I get for free from the library!

I have bought some books from Amazon for about 60% - 70% of the price in the book store.

I have noted that if it has an Australian or New Zealand author, Amazon is more expensive than the book store. Dunno why that would be.

-

[Perturabo]

ORIGINAL: Joe 98

I cannot search for a book on-line unless I already know that book exists. And the most common way to find out is to browse a book store.

Publishers/web book stores usually have web pages with a list of books, often sorted by keywords and periods.

ORIGINAL: Lützow

You don't see a difference between copying a physical book and a .pdf?

I see a difference. I buy a physical copy of a book after reading/browsing a .pdf much more often than after borrowing a book from a library. It's because the library allows me to use a full physical version of a book for a few months.

[parusski]

ORIGINAL: Joe D.

ORIGINAL: Jeffrey H.

TBH I don't go to bookstores any longer. I didn't like the crowds ...

Crowds aren't a problem any more.

No, crowds are no longer a problem for brick and mortar book stores.[:D][:D]

[Perturabo]

Speaking of crowds. Another thing that I dislike about buying in bookstores is that some books, many comic books are in "used" condition but at full price. It's because some bookstores allow reading their books. One thing that is good about all these manga sites is that they at least allow to examine a comic book without damaging them.

[parusski]

Yes, I too have noticed many books and magazines that should be sold as used. At least with Amazon you have a choice of buying new or used.