What We Gain from a Good Bookstore • Hacker News Board

Re: What We Gain from a Good Bookstore

#41

Post by sudobash1 » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 3:43 PM UTC

rr808 wrote: post #34

Meh, I really dont miss bookstores, and I suspect most people who claim to love them are exaggerating. I dont read as much as I used to, my local library is good and online is much cheaper and convenient. What is cool is second hand books if you can get browse for something interesting cheap that you didn't know you wanted.

I'm glad that these other venues work for you, but don't assume that everyone else values the same experiences as you. Speaking personally, I find that a physical used book store has many practical and aesthetic advantages over an online store. (An example of a practical benefit for me is discovering new writers.)

I know many people who in actuality love and prefer a physical bookstore. This is evinced by many profitable bookstores in my area (both new and used).

Re: What We Gain from a Good Bookstore

#42

Post by WolfeReader » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 3:52 PM UTC

rr808 wrote: post #34

Meh, I really dont miss bookstores, and I suspect most people who claim to love them are exaggerating. I dont read as much as I used to, my local library is good and online is much cheaper and convenient. What is cool is second hand books if you can get browse for something interesting cheap that you didn't know you wanted.

"I suspect most people who claim to love them are exaggerating."

I can't imagine why a person would either think, or write, this sentence. Most people are being honest when they say they enjoy a thing.

Re: What We Gain from a Good Bookstore

#43

Post by bombomdifgity » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 3:53 PM UTC

selimthegrim wrote: post #16

I am enraged that the local anarchist secondhand bookstore and lending library was replaced right before I moved here by condos and a brunch place.

No post body was provided.

Re: What We Gain from a Good Bookstore

#44

Post by tomhoward » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 3:53 PM UTC

There's a great story [1] of how established Australian independent bookstore Readings survived the entrance of Borders into the market in the early 2000s.

Borders opened a huge store directly over the street from Readings' flagship store and tried to wage a price war, whilst Readings kept its prices up and redoubled its efforts at providing a great experience to customers.

Since Borders shut down in Australia in 2011, Readings has continued to expand and thrive, now operating seven stores in key locations around Melbourne, but still retaining its small-business, community-focused charm, and still just selling good books to book lovers, as it did when it first opened in the late 1960s.

[1] https://rosshoneywill.com/articles/how-mark-rubbo-killed-bor...

Re: What We Gain from a Good Bookstore

#45

Post by tomc1985 » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 4:06 PM UTC

waspight wrote: post #29

thundergolfer wrote: post #8

I have come to value 2nd hand bookstores so much in day to day life that I maintain it as an almost 'must have' when assessing living locations. Great coffee shops are a dime a dozen in reasonably affluent areas, but a good 2nd hand bookshop adds so much warmth and charm to an area. I don't have any in walking distance from where I live right now, but I'm moving to NYC soon and will aim to correct that. (Shouldn't be…

Just curious, why is second hand book stores that important? I imagine that everything worth reading is available on Amazon and rated in Goodreads. I am just curious and hopefully I am totally wrong as well.

And supporting them is supporting a faceless corporation run by young, ageist technocrats, where all your rights are squashed under DRM

Re: What We Gain from a Good Bookstore

#46

Post by bwanab » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 4:12 PM UTC

rr808 wrote: post #34

Meh, I really dont miss bookstores, and I suspect most people who claim to love them are exaggerating. I dont read as much as I used to, my local library is good and online is much cheaper and convenient. What is cool is second hand books if you can get browse for something interesting cheap that you didn't know you wanted.

I read a lot and every day. 90% of my reading has been on my iPad in the last several years because I agree it's just much more convenient. Despite that, I still love the ambiance of a good bookstore.

Re: What We Gain from a Good Bookstore

#47

Post by erickhill » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 4:17 PM UTC

Plus, small local bookstores have no idea who you are (in general) when you walk in the front door. No tracking codes, no "browsing history" in your back pocket.

You get to have full and total anonymity (even if you're a regular, your path through the store will be yours and yours alone). You can browse the aisles and look at any old book's spine you please, pull it off the shelf and read the inside cover or maybe some employee notes on a card if there are any.

And the next time you come in, that book won't be in the front window since you touched it. You can start the whole process over again.

Re: What We Gain from a Good Bookstore

#48

Post by sircastor » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 4:19 PM UTC

thundergolfer wrote: post #8

I have come to value 2nd hand bookstores so much in day to day life that I maintain it as an almost 'must have' when assessing living locations. Great coffee shops are a dime a dozen in reasonably affluent areas, but a good 2nd hand bookshop adds so much warmth and charm to an area. I don't have any in walking distance from where I live right now, but I'm moving to NYC soon and will aim to correct that. (Shouldn't be…

> I don't have any in walking distance from where I live right now, but I'm moving to NYC soon and will aim to correct that. (Shouldn't be too hard, right?)

Unfortunately, Fox Books put all the small, independent stores out of business.

Re: What We Gain from a Good Bookstore

#49

Post by reaperducer » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 4:20 PM UTC

waspight wrote: post #29

thundergolfer wrote: post #8

I have come to value 2nd hand bookstores so much in day to day life that I maintain it as an almost 'must have' when assessing living locations. Great coffee shops are a dime a dozen in reasonably affluent areas, but a good 2nd hand bookshop adds so much warmth and charm to an area. I don't have any in walking distance from where I live right now, but I'm moving to NYC soon and will aim to correct that. (Shouldn't be…

Just curious, why is second hand book stores that important? I imagine that everything worth reading is available on Amazon and rated in Goodreads. I am just curious and hopefully I am totally wrong as well.

I imagine that everything worth reading is available on Amazon and rated in Goodreads.

Then you should broaden your imagination.

Amazon and Goodreads have barely a fraction of one percent of the books that were published. And that's just in English.

It's like saying "Anything worth watching is on streaming," even though less than 5% of the world's video content ever made the translation from film to VHS to DVD to streaming. Or paper to records to tape to CD to streaming.

There's a whole vast world of content out there beyond the internet. Once you discover this, it's like taking a pill in The Matrix.

(My metaphor might be off there, as I've never seen The Matrix, but from what I understand from other people's conversations, that should work.)

Re: What We Gain from a Good Bookstore

#50

Post by yojo » Sat, Aug 06, 2022, 4:24 PM UTC

waspight wrote: post #29

thundergolfer wrote: post #8

I have come to value 2nd hand bookstores so much in day to day life that I maintain it as an almost 'must have' when assessing living locations. Great coffee shops are a dime a dozen in reasonably affluent areas, but a good 2nd hand bookshop adds so much warmth and charm to an area. I don't have any in walking distance from where I live right now, but I'm moving to NYC soon and will aim to correct that. (Shouldn't be…

Just curious, why is second hand book stores that important? I imagine that everything worth reading is available on Amazon and rated in Goodreads. I am just curious and hopefully I am totally wrong as well.

I’ll offer another perspective: human interaction. Good book stores have good staff, helpful other humans that will engage with you and guide you to something you would like.

Computers can fill some, but not all of this role. We are social animals. We are hard wired to feel good when we are in community with other humans, and to (in cases) develop psychosis when deprived of that contact[1].

The price of a book is trivially easy to compare, while the value of social interaction is hard to quantify. Replacing in-person commerce with online shopping because it is less expensive or more convenient may not be as good a deal as it seems.

1: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8131183/#abs000...