September 2, 2010
I just found out that they’re closing the Barnes & Noble across from Lincoln Center. Normally, news of a bookstore closing, any bookstore, even a mega bookstore, would give me pause. I would storm around the house ranting to my husband that this is an outrage! My heart would break a little because people are reading less and those of us who are writing for those people have lost some of our audience. Even more it means that books are being underappreciated. Admittedly, I am a tactile person. I love books. The intimate physicality of holding one in your hand, turning the pages, dog-earring a favorite passage, this is reading!
However, like the CD, books are adapting to this new technological age. The Barnes & Noble is closing because of less books being sold, yes, and a rent increase too. Yet, it’s also closing because people are buying more books on-line. The good news is they are still reading, simply reading differently. So though I am sad for the loss of another big bookstore in the city, the first being the Barnes & Noble on 6th Ave. I can understand the need to work with a different kind of consumer. Therefore, it bodes well for one, such as myself, who is going the route of e-publication. Which admittedly has me emotionally torn.
On the one side I love old-fashioned books. Snuggling up on the couch with a glass of wine and a good book is an ideal evening. Turning the page or lingering over a phrase, feeling the worn paper in my hands draws me further into the story. My mind knows this can’t be true, but it’s what I feel. I know I’m not alone in this, but it’s also how most of us were taught to read. Not from screens, but from books. Yet, those who are converts to the e-readers love them! Intellectually, it makes perfect sense, rather than carrying around one book you can have your entire library with you. Environmentally, it’s a very green approach. No trees are cut to print cyber books. Plus, the entire e-book phenomenon has given many of us the opportunity to skip the big publishers and go for it! So little old-fashioned me has become an advocate for the e-book. However, if you want to pick up a new hard back book seek out your local bookstore. The treasures you’ll find are worth the trip!
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