Halloween seems like an appropriate time to discuss a ghastly trend.
Across America bookstores are dying.
In Austin, the first sign of trouble was the closing of two stores called the Bookstop. I don’t know if they shut down at the same time, or one after the other. All I remember is walking up to their doors and seeing empty shelves through darkened windows.
But they were the first and I hardly noticed their passing.
Then a B. Dalton’s closed. But I could rationalize its death, too. It was in an older mall, I told myself. Fewer people were heading there and it couldn’t offer shoppers the glamour of the newer malls in town.
Besides, I got great bargains at the close out sale.
And then they built the Domain, a brand new shopping center with 1,300,000 square feet of retail space. That’s right. Over one million. It offered shoppers retail stores galore. Dillard’s. Macey’s. Neiman Marcus—and a Barnes and Noble.
Now whenever I headed to that part of town, or close to that part of town, or a reasonable drive away from that part of town, I stopped by. It might have been my imagination, but this two-story bookstore seemed larger than any other in town.
The Domain has been a great success. Whenever I go there, I wonder how Americans can need so much. Perfume. Jewelry. Shoes. And clothes. High-end clothes. Casual clothes. Specialty shops featuring just jeans, shoes, or children’s attire.
Everything it seems but a bookstore.
My Barnes & Noble has closed .
It was like a death in the family and I couldn’t rationalize it away. This mall was big, new, and very popular. Apparently shoppers need 1.3 million square feet of retail space.
They just don’t need a book store.
I’d imagine standalone bookstores would do better than one in a mall – books are a bit heavy to lug around while you shop at other places.
My favorite local bookstore closed several years ago – my family had been going there since before I was born, and both my brother and I worked there at different times. Now my bookstore options are both quite a distance away, so I shop online most of the time instead.
I am guilty of purchasing on line also (which will be the subject of a future post R.I.P. 2 later in the week.
But you raise an interesting point. Of the main retail book stores that have survived in the Austin area, one is adjacent to a mall (not inside). Another has its own very large building downtown. A third is in a strip center.
Of course, Austin is big enough to support these bookstores, as well as Christian book stores, and half-price bookstores.
It’s a shame you don’t have a bookstore any longer. To me it’s a treat to walk among the shelves, read the back cover blurbs, and find that one that one that I can’t wait to read.
I guess most consumers would rather spend their money on another tube of lipgloss rather than on an enlightening adventure that improves concentration and memory, reduces stress, and might even change their life.
Hopefully readers, rather than abandon books altogether, are realizing they can still broaden their horizons without paying extra for all the fancy coffee shops, designer chairs, and fluffy gift items in so many of the retail stores. I hope they still read by purchasing from smaller (and cheaper) mom and pop stores, or buying books online.
I hope authors and readers won’t give up the fight in this transition stage in our culture; let’s work to find ways to encourage reading for its own sake and support quality authors slogging away to get the good stuff out there.
That’s a very sad trend. Fortunately in South Africa we still have a number of small second-hand book stores to go rummage through and find some lost treasure. As well as the big, new book stores.
But I suppose it’s only a matter of time until we ‘catch up’ to the rest of the world, and these stores become obsolete.
~ Rory