Barnes & Nobel shrinking

[Therin of Andor]

Simon & Schuster and Barnes & Noble in dispute:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...ver-terms.html

[plynch]

I am on a library board, and we are trying to "vision" what the library should look like (metaphorically) 10 years from now. Few have gone bookless, but not necessarily successfully. I think it was futurism guru Ray Kurzweill who wrote how the resolution and usabiliy of the paper book are darned good technology. And many of us have been conditioned to like that method of info/story transmission. Even young people want to retain paper books. Amazon, iirc, sells more e- than paper, however.

[CaptainDonovin]

veritech wrote:

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I always bemoan the closing of book stores, but I really have no right to. I buy almost exclusively through Amazon or SFBC.

Sure you do. I get all of my books on kindle now (have most of the 2013 Trek offerings pre-ordered) but still stop in if say my wife wants to look for clothes or shoes, then I'll hang out in B&N.

The other reason to bemoan another book store closing (still miss Borders & Waldenbooks ) is the someone who may not have the ability to use Amazon or will just lose out on the joy of finding a gem they didn't expect to find. I found a great Atlas of the Universe at Borders before they announced it was over.

[Pavonis]

Brick-and-mortar bookstores offer a spontaneity of browsing and purchasing that online just can't match. Browsing online is possible - I do it all the time, and have quite a wishlist on Amazon for the books I want "later" - but it's just different. Links at Amazon will tend to keep you in the same genre, so you have to make an effort to jump to another category. Strolling moving through a bookstore, though, will let you wander effortlessly through categories.

We don't have a Barnes and Noble in my city - the only one in the state is on the other side of it from me - but I'm aware of six bookstores in town, three of which are exclusively used books. I love used bookstores, and try to buy at least one item every time I visit. I don't want them to go away, so I try to support them. My support has left me with an estimated three-year backlog of unread books.

I have a Nook, too, with a lot of public domain novels on it, but I don't use it as much as I thought I would. I also have an iPad, with e-reader apps, but I don't use that for book reading much, either. Rather, I use it mostly for web browsing.

[plynch]

I've never really been a new book buyer. Went to U-M so I used to hang out at Borders' Mothership store. But usually, I buy used books or get books from the library. Hardcovers - never: rip-off, imho. In Michigan we can interloan from any other lib in MI, including some universities, so really anything's available for the price of your library card, i.e. free. All hail collectivism! (until it's completely dismantled)

And the above post-er was right, in-person browsing beats online. The best place in the library is the new book wall, where all fiction genres and nonfiction categories are within the same glance. I've gotten things there I NEVER would've consciously browsed toward, including a book on business that changed my life. (Prompted me to write the book linked-to in my sig.)

[Reanok]

Therin of Andor wrote:

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Simon & Schuster and Barnes & Noble in dispute:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...ver-terms.html

Wow!That certainly answers why my local Barnes and nobles doesn't carry as many Startrek Books like they did a few years ago.I hope whatever the promblem is with SimoN7Shuster can be straightend out.

[Therin of Andor]

Anyone who buys "every" new Star Trek novel should just special order with their most dependable local bookshop. A "standing order" gives the shop a sense of continuity - and, as a happy byproduct, also reminds them to order additional copies for their regular shelves.

[Skywalker]

Therin of Andor wrote:

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Anyone who buys "every" new Star Trek novel should just special order with their most dependable local bookshop. A "standing order" gives the shop a sense of continuity - and, as a happy byproduct, also reminds them to order additional copies for their regular shelves.

Kind of like a pull list at a comic book store. Which are also quickly going the way of your favorite extinct animal, sadly.

[Therin of Andor]

Skywalker wrote:

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Kind of like a pull list at a comic book store.

Exactly. Galaxy Bookshop have "pulled" Star Trek books for me for decades now, especially after the Diamond Orderpak stopped stocking Simon & Schuster stuff and my local comic shop could no longer order ST titles even if they wanted to.

[Reanok]

I may just have to special order Startrek books from Barnes &Noble or one of the bookstores sounds like a good idea.It's probably the only way to get any of the new Startrek books coming out this year

[Therin of Andor]

Reanok wrote:

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I may just have to special order Startrek books from Barnes &Noble or one of the bookstores sounds like a good idea.It's probably the only way to get any of the new Startrek books coming out this year

Get the ISBNs off Amazon; that's the most efficient way for bookshops to place orders.

[Reanok]

Therin thanks for the tip That's really handy to know that when you order books.

[C.E. Evans]

Therin of Andor wrote:

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Why?

There are often recommendations from ST fans, right here, about great new and favourite authors and SF series. There are lots of ways to leave yourself open to trusted recommendations apart from casual browsing the shelves, although that's always fun.

Casual browing the shelves is how I've always found my books. As far as recommendations, I tend to like books that others don't and vice-versa.

[Ktrek]

I buy enough from B&N every year to justify the $25 annual membership. I used to stop in the store every month to buy the latest Trek book and browse other areas but lately I decided that since my membership gives me free shipping I save more by pre-ordering on their website and not wasting gas to drive to the other side of town and back. I do miss the monthly browse through the store but will still get by there at least once a quarter to buy the Star Trek Magazine because the postal service cannot deliver it in mint condition. I've been collecting Trek mags for far too long to skimp on the magazines! I go back to The Official Fan Club No. 42 if memory serves me right, as well as the various Starlog Trek zines, and every issue and incarnation since (this amounts now to several hundred Trek mags all in plastic protectors).

Kevin

[Therin of Andor]

C.E. Evans wrote:

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Casual browing the shelves is how I've always found my books. As far as recommendations, I tend to like books that others don't and vice-versa.

Then ask us about books we hated.