I found an interesting article in Washington Post. The article, written by Alexandra Petri, laments the impending closure of some B&N stores.
I am saying this on behalf of all your friends: the Publishing Industry, Book-Lovers Everywhere and — well, pretty much everyone but Amazon.com. We gathered this weekend and decided it was time we spoke up. We lost Borders. We cannot bear to lose you too.
I, too, love the Barnes & Noble, even though they never have my books out on time during the release week. I love the rows of books. I love walking through the aisles and seeing hundreds of covers. It gives me this light, happy feeling, an anticipation of finding something great to read. It would kill a little part of me if B&N closed. And, in the interests of full disclosure, professionally it would a catastrophe.
Alexandra makes an interesting point:
Your Nook e-readers are not bad devices, but that is hardly the point. Every week I get another e-mail from Barnes & Nobles beseeching me to buy a Nook. You have reached the point where you are offering me $30 worth of gift certificates. And every time I walk into the store, a voice comes over the loudspeaker beseeching me to buy a Nook in the most piteous tone. Look, I do not come to Barnes & Noble every weekend and purchase several volumes because I am laboring under the misapprehension that Nooks do not exist. I show up and buy because I like physical books.
That started me thinking about Nooks and then I went off on a tangent, so here you go, I’ll now ramble a bit below.
I own a Nook, a Kindle Fire, an iPad, and now a Galaxy Tablet. Having used all four, I’m firmly convinced that the time of dedicated reading devices is passing. Let’s face it, when I read a book, I also want to occasionally stop and check my email or twit about something cool I read. I want to read my blog feed in bed. Doing it on Kindle Fire is a giant pain. The keyboard is clunky. Typing on it is a chore. Accessing YouTube is a chore. Organizing your library is impossible. If I get a file in .mobi format, I have to email it to myself with CONVERT in the subject or Kindle won’t read it. Kindle doesn’t display pdf well either. Oh, and if I get an MS Word file, I have to have a special app to open it. It won’t just magically go to my documents. You have to go back to the browser, click the downloads, and access it from there.
I don’t know about you, but there are times when my Kindle Fire screen refuses to recognize that I’m touching it. Also copying and pasting is sometimes plain impossible. I found many of the same issues on the Nook.
iPad was better, but I wasn’t in love with User Interface. Galaxy finally hit that sweet spot for me: I can download a Kindle app, a Nook app, and I love the keyboard. Browsing is a breeze. For me, personally, buying a dedicated reading device seems like a waste of money now. Why? I can get a device that’s designed to do all things I want to do, and it does it better than a dedicated reading device. I’m fighting a cold, and yesterday I spent the day alternating between kitchen – I made a whole bunch of chicken fingers, because I knew everyone would eat them – and lying in bed. I played a cool game on my tablet, while Gordon played Settlers on iPad. It was awesome.
I also bought OH MYYY by George Takei through the Kindle app on it, and read it. I didn’t find it any different than reading on Kindle Fire, except my screen was bigger.
This post wasn’t really meant as a commercial for the Galaxy. There are plenty of other tablets out there that accomplish all the same things. What I am trying to say is, the nature of our reading experience has changed. It used to be that we’d buy a book and read it in solitude. Now we read a book and we talk about it. We discuss it on Twitter, on Facebook, and on Goodreads. We have blogs, and Tumblr, and Pininterest. We want to go to message boards and talk about our books there. We want to visit the author’s website. I saw a dude on Twitter the other day who had an epic fantasy out from Nightshade. I immediately went to his website to see what it was about.
Reading has evolved into a social experience. And this is a beautiful thing, because books we read define who we are. Finding others who like the same books we do reassures us that we are not alone. It helps us fight isolation and forges friendships. And we do this mostly through the use of email and internet.
I see it happening in real time: in the past year, Kid 2 has blasted through Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, The Pearl, Outsiders, the Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie Higson’s series and a few other heavier titles. It affected her deeply and she feels a disconnect with her peers, because reading all these books made her mature faster than some of her friends. She complained that she didn’t have anyone to talk to about the books, and my response was, “Make a Goodreads account.”
Nook and Kindle, at the core, are good reading devices but not very good all-purpose devices. And the majority of users, I think, want an all-purpose device. Even your stereotypical “older lady who doesn’t use computers that often” goes on Amazon to chat on a forum about Stephanie Plum. Gordon’s aunt, who can destroy computers by a mere glance, uses a Kindle app on her laptop.
All this makes me conclude that Nook and Kindle Fire sales will continue downward, while tablet sales will keep climbing. What it means to B&N long-term, I’m not sure. I do know that I don’t go to Amazon and B&N for devices anymore. I go there for content: awesome books that alter my reality, if only for a few hours, which I can discuss later with my friends.
As somebody who works for B&N, I felt that the initial WSJ article about closing stores blew things out of proportion. Yes, stores will be closing but instead of being 10-15 a year as they have been for awhile, it will start to be 15-20 a year. They are opening new stores, just not enough to make up the difference. I’d rather have a few more stores close every year than to lose B&N completely, so if this is part of what is need to survive? Okay by me. Adaptation or extinction. That being said, as an bookseller, I also know that there are definitely other things that need to change within the B&N world…. A change to the membership program with better benefits, some sort of reconciliation between in-store prices and online prices (trust me, it drives us crazy too), a revamp of the customer service call center for nook (go into the store! most of us are decent human beings and will do whatever we can to get the issue resolved), etc.
A comment on why some books never seem to be in store for release date…. Your books are always destined for a promotional display when first released (MM New Arrivals). I know that if the release date and the date that the promo goes up is close, the book will often be stored in the back room in anticipation of the project set up instead of sending it up to its home in the sci fi/fantasy section. This is annoying for customers and booksellers because it may look like we don’t have the title but we actually do. My suggestion is to always ask at customer service. I, for one, am always glad to go get books for customers, especially when it falls in with my own reading interests and I can geek out about it with you.
And anytime an author drops in and mentions what they are looking for, I’ll whip out my “autographed” stickers and bam, special display at customer service. (*cough cough* Come to Ohio! *cough cough*)
I totally would come to Ohio. One day!
I absolutely support your advice on going to customer service. With Borders closed, every release now is a stream of “They don’t have your book!” emails, because people expect the book to be there on its release dates, but the same emails usually say that asking an associate resulted in the book being brought out from the back.
I am part of the small segment of readers that do not want to access email, apps, or anything else when I have my old 2nd gen Kindle in hand. I work on computer software, programming, and hardware troubleshooting for a living. It’s nice to know that if I grab my kindle and a cool drink, I can read while catching some rays in the backyard, uninterrupted (well, maybe not in January).
Here’s the thing – I converted to e-books about 4 years ago when i realized that my bookcase in my apartment had no room left! 10 years ago i spent way too much time in bookstores just browsing and was heartbroken when my local B&N closed…now I couldn’t care less if B&N brick & mortar stores disappeared entirely. I read on the Kindle mostly because I spend 8-10 hours a day in front of a computer and the last thing I want to do is read on a computer! I do agree with you that people are reading more becuase of the easy access. My husband used to NEVER read other than sports articles. Since i got him a Kindle he has been reading a lot more just because he can find books that interest him! It will be sad to see some of the B&N stores close mostly because of nostalgia, but I won’t be going back to actual books anytime soon!
I miss my Borders. It was pretty much the only reason I went to the Frou-Frou Mall. It certainly wasn’t for the Pottery Barn (occasionally may have been for Sephora). I liked Borders far more than B&N, but the rise of ereaders wasn’t their only problem. The higher ups also made some rather silly business errors that contributed to their downward slide and eventual death. Like partnering with Amazon to help their online store. ( Seriously? Hiring the competition to help you with your online presence?)
I admit that I rarely go to B&N unless I’m on the hunt for a specific item. Ours is in a difficult location to get in and out of and if I’m not already the area for something else I don’t like to deal with it. The customer service has never been as good as it was at Borders and more than once they have not had a book I’ve been waiting for during release week. Not just Ilona Andrews titles, either.
That being said, I would miss B&N if it was gone if only b/c it is an actual bookstore and one of reasonable size. When I do make it over there, I stay a while and browse to see if there’s anything else that catches my eye. Big Box stores usually only bother with what’s on the best seller lists and genres that sell easily, like romance and hot kid series, when it comes to what’s on their physical shelves. Take Wal-Mart for example; Dresden Files books will go number one on pre-sales alone, but often you won’t find the new book there until it’s been out a week or two and officially in the top ten. Just how many sales do they miss out from that practice? I about had a heart attack when Magic Bleeds was released and it was on the shelves of Store #1 on release day when B&N didn’t have it at all. Someone in purchasing that day must have been a fan. No sign of Steel’s Edge, though.
The quirky or new writers and books will be at a severe disadvantage if we lose B&N. Will they go away completely? I don’t think so – at least not forever. The market will adapt to the new norm and find another way to get the word out. Hey, maybe by things like Innkeeper – giving away a free taste to get the readers interested and hooked, then make them pay for the rest or sequels.
Hmmm…. I think I made authors and their publishers sound like drug dealers with that last part…
Sometimes i feel like they are!! Especially when I stalk this website as if it’s a street corner looking for my next fix
My wife and I used to LOVE browsing through our Borders every weekend, but when that closed, all we have are a few mom and pop stores that don’t have nearly the selection, and honestly just are not the experience we like. There is a Barnes and Noble about 90 miles away, and when we visit that town, we always stop in. We use our kindles daily. It’s probably better this way, as we would have twice the boxes of books than we do, now. I hate to get rid of books, yet, I don’t always go back to them often enough to keep them in the house…with our kindles (or another reading device) those books are always within reach. I have a laptop next to my chair that I use to surf the net, so I don’t know if I would really want my kindle to do all that. I prefer the laptop experience…I guess I’m hardwired to use a keyboard.
If you like the Galaxy for it’s functionality, wait ’til the MS Surface Pro comes out in march – totaly cool beans.
I have tried the buy the book in store on the release date at BN. Your’s are never out on time, but I can get it at midnight as an e-book. Why did I ever bother trying to wait? We are a world with expectations of instant gratification. I will still stop in the store for a Cheesecake Factory slice of apple crumb cheesecake and a latte…
I personally only buy ebooks that are 5 or less because if I have to pay full price for the book then I want a paper book I also like to have real books if I already own the rest of the series the only time I will spend full price for a book is if I can’t wait to get it in the snail mail
I agree with you! I rarely ever buy an ebook that is over 5 dollars. I just can’t justify spending more than that on something that isn’t a real physical copy.
I do love my kindle, the adjustable font size is a big deal for me, also being able to see the screen and print clearly outside. I downsized my giant boxes of paperbacks to just the ones unavailable on Kindle.
But a trip to B&N sounds like a winner for this weekend
I have a hard time feeling sorry for B&N now. I worked in publishing back when they used predatory practices to shut down every independent bookstore they could. What goes around comes around. Now some of the independent bookstores are starting to come back mainly as used bookstores or book cafes. I would much rather patronize individuals than large corporate entities. At one point we couldn’t even approve a book for publication unless the B&N buyer was willing to place an order.
I admit I’ve switched to reading on my Kindle Touch or my Droid. I like being able to read single handed. Also, old books gather dust and irritate my allergies not to mention the sheer volume of them taking over the house. My bet on the future of reading is devices like the Droid. It’s just too convenient to take one small device everywhere and have it do everything.
BN is commiting ereader technocide by limiting its customers to BN app store. My hubby went with the new Nook HD plus. I will go with a tablet when I am ready to move on from my Nroid (android rooted Nook Color). He is happy to side root his new Nook to be able to install apps from where he wants. Heck with that. Just give me a tablet.
Exclusivity didnt work for AOL. Seems BN would know better.
That article was actually written by a friend of a friend of mine. LOL. I started to read it, but honestly didn’t finish it. And if you do go to Ohio, you totally need to stop in Indianapolis first. ‘k?
Lizz D. recently posted..Alpha
I had a kindle 2 until it died. Then the latest kindle, so small and light. When the paperwhite was announced, I preordered one because finally there was a built in reading light. But the light was uneven and the touchscreen disappointing, to say the least, so in came an iPad mini. Now both kindles have new owners and I’m happy.
I literally cried when our Walden Books (Borders) closed. Knew all the employees by name and they me. Dropped serous $ there every week, utilized their membership program,etc.
Now no book store. Bought a B&N membership and no store near us, so no I can’t reap all the member benefits and prices online are different-but free shipping I use each month.
I have Kobo, Nook and Kindle apps on my iPod touch. Do like to be able to read in bed at night or early am when hubby is snoring away without disturbing him.
Will not buy a dedicated reader for the reasons Ilona mentioned. I also like the freedom to support all three booksellers with the apps.
Yes my 4 floor to ceiling bookshelves are double stacked. Yes this does play havock with my allergies. But I still do like to hold a book to read.
Jackson Michigan has been without a true bookstore for a couple years. You can go to the library or we have a used book store. The other atternive is go out of the city or go on line with the many resources we have on the Internet. I have both apps on my computer but my favorite is NOOK.
I just bought the Note tablet for college. The cheapest way to deal with my books is in e-format, and I use it to transscribe my notes from class. I like the fact that I can save my notes to Google Documents. I also use it to check my assignments, and, admittedly, use it to entertain myself between classes. I never thought I would get a tablet, but here we are. It’s far easier lugging around a tablet that weighs around a pound than a laptop that is 4-5 Tpounds. I still need to turn off Swype…
A few years ago I broke down and bought a Kindle. I chose to go that route over a tablet or other reading device because it seemed easiest on the eyes. Since it’s B&W whatnot paper-something technology and not touch screen, it’s supposed to be better for the eyes. I think it is although I still try to take breaks during vacations when I’m on a reading binge after the first whopper headache.
Now I find I’m buying my favorite books in e-format just to have them easily accessible wherever I go. I’ve gone from reluctantly trying out e-books to now preferring e-books especially when trying out new authors, which I do a lot since I am pretty voracious. I’m starting to prefer not having physical books to squeeze into my already jammed bookshelves–unless it’s an author I love.
Sometimes there’s nothing like the luxury of a nice hard-back book with the feel and smell of the paper and the lovely weight of it in your hands as you maybe snooze a bit too. Other times there’s nothing like the luxury of having access to just about any book no matter where you are–and not having to lug around literally bags and bags of books on vacation.
Doesn’t reading on tablets for prolonged periods of time hurt your eyes? I’ve never tried reading on one, but I have tried reading on my smartphone and on my computer screen and I always ended up developing the most dreadful headache (yes, I tend to read for hours on end). My ereader is called Bebook Neo and is completely useless for anything but reading, but I’ve never been bothered by it. You’ve made a very interesting point here, though. Kind of opened a whole new world to me! I’m a private person, I don’t have that many friends in RL or online, and I consider reading a completely private experience. I don’t think I’ve ever feel compelled to discuss anything I’ve read with anyone (kind of wonder what that says about me LOL). What you’ve said here is literally a whole new world. I had no idea reading had evolved into a social experience. I do hope ereaders will not become extinct though because I really love mine and I don’t want to replace it with a tablet!
I loved my Borders and tried very hard to love the B&N. It is not as close to my house but I went. B&N has a crappy discount program and I don’t feel like they get the books as soon as I would like. I go less and less. Books a Million has just opened their first stores in our area and as excited as I am about having a bookstore close to the house again, I find myself still getting my reading on iPad or Kindle. Plus paperback print is sooo tiny my old eyes get tired looking at it. O.O
As far as tablets and ereaders go, I’ve never been much of a fan. I always go for my laptop when I want to do anything on the internet or need to type up a paper and catch up on my email. It’s bigger and more powerful and just has everything I need. I also much prefer to use a mouse and a real keyboard instead of touching a screen. I also prefer real books to ebooks/kindle books. I do occasionally read kindle books. I buy a lot of my books from Amazon, new and used ones, and I sometimes go to my local used bookstore which I love. I was reading Kindle books on my used ipod touch (yes I buy a lot of used things) and it was fine. The only drawback was it was so small and that meant constantly turning pages. I also have the Kindle app on my laptop, but it’s too bulky to read on all the time and I can’t take it with me everywhere. My oldest daughter decided to buy me a Kindle Fire for Christmas. I do like reading my Kindle books on it. I’ve added a few other apps and browsed my favorite internet sites, but mostly I just use it for reading books. Like I said, I much prefer my laptop to browse the web and all that other stuff. So I guess I’m just different than most people. I don’t mind putting down the Kindle Fire when I’m done reading and picking up my laptop to do everything else.
I’m one of the one who absolutely wants a dedicated eink eReader. I have a desktop, a laptop, a netbook, an iPad, and a Kindle Fire (which I agree is kind of a waste) – but when I want to read, I use one of my eink Kindles. Considering that I read for hours at a time, I appreciate the light weight and the lack of eyestrain. I hope they never get rid of them.
I still have a digital camera for the same reason – it’s a dedicated device that does exactly what I need it to do and does it well.
Yes I like dedicated devices that do things well too. I don’t think I could ever be happy with an all in one device. I like my nice camera that takes awesome photos, my nice computer that functions as it should and a real book in my hand LOL, although I’m not opposed to reading on my Kindle if I find a Kindle book at a great price.
really! i have never had a problem getting your books at B&N. i am usually the customer calling 2 weeks before release to see if they have come in yet (then calling everyday until they do) and explaining that you don’t have a hard release date so I can buy early. Your books are really the only ones I buy in actual book form now, specifically because I can get them early. i am very loyal to my kindle touch but recently have been using my ipad ibooks app. only because i received a bunch of itunes gift cards, cant beat free books otherwise i would never use it.
amanda recently posted..Registry 101
I love my kindle and only want to be able to read a book on it. If I want to do something else in the middle of reading a book, well then I’m obviously not in the mood to read and I get a different device. If I’m falling out of the story so much then the book isn’t doing its job.
Thanks for the Galaxy rec. I just can’t face an ipod cause I have Apple issues. I originally went with a Lenovo netvertable. It’s a netbook that flips to a tablet. I like it but it’s slow for games. Then I got a kindle touch, which I like for outdoor reading better than the lighted lenovo. Now I want a tablet that I can get a data plan for. I don’t really like smart phones. The screen is too small. I’d rather have a tablet with data.
As for dead tree book stores. Our local BAM is un-usable. B&N has much better service but an hour away. I worked in independent bookstores in my 20s and I watched the big chains kill the independents with discounts and poorer service. So now the big chains get eaten by bigger fish. I do see a lot more independent bookstores open. They are smaller and more specialized but much better service. I think seeing B&N slowly fail is sad but it’s the nature of change.
I love physical books. The smell of it, the texture and just the physical act of turning each page fills me with joy. However, since I relocated to another country more than 4 years ago and sharing a 3 bedroom flat with 2 friends, I find that my book storage space is very limited. I still buy physical copies of books by authors I really love (including you) but I find that I use my iPad more and more for reading and for lots of other things. Being someone from Asia who reads books mostly written by Authors who grew up in a different culture and geography from me, I find that there are some references that I am not entirely clear on or even mention of places that may be familiar to other readers but not to me. So it’s just so easy to switch from the eReader app to an internet browser to quickly google stuff. This makes my reading experience more richer and I learn new things as well.
I originally paid the $400 or so dollars for the Kindle 2 because they finally allowed computer-to-Kindle downloads and it meant that I didn’t have to wait to go home for the summer to get your latest book. (I was living in Kuwait at the time, and true story, it was killing me to wait for the latest Kate Daniels book.)
But I really wanted to respond to your comment about Kid 2. Has she talked to her school librarian about books? I’m the middle school/high school librarian, I chat (geek out) with students all the time about books. This gives me a chance to connect kids with similar reading interests.
I love books. I have a Sony e-reader that I really enjoy. The Sony was just a better choice for me when I was looking at all the devices. I still have my paper books and I go to the library weekly but I very rarely physically go inside a B&N. I’m sure eventually I will have to switch out my e-reader but I am going to hold off as long as possible.
I went to Borders and always bought the $10.00 sales/bargain books. I own a Kindle but the plastic on the cord keeps peeling off so I don’t use it as much. Lately I just use PDFs or convert everything to PDF and read off the laptop.
But, I am a big fan of the paper book and regulary go out and dig through thrift shops to find the old pre 1960s books. I volunteered in a thrift shop for awhile and end up getting more books then I expected by being the guy that researched the old books and looked up how much they were worth. Found everything from old technology (1900) to old poetry (1890-1940) that had not been reprinted since it was published.
I tend to go to locally owned bookstores more often. I am not even sure if there is a B&N near me. I enjoyed Borders for all that it was worth and wish it was still around.
OK, my 2 cents here. I read and review books almost everyday of my life and I can tell you that the Kindle makes it MUCH easier on me to read, move books of different formats around and everything in general. I get books from myriad places, publishers, authors (thanks BTW), friends of authors, reviewers blogs, plus a few other reviewer tools. Nothing can handles all this with the ability to transfer my books to another device as easily as Kindle. I DO use the send to my Kindle with the “convert” subject and it works famously. For the casual reader that most people are I am sure many of these alternatives would work fine (BTW I am not endorsing the Fire, I use the Kindle Keyboard with free 3 G, I can get books anywhere a cell phone works) BUT for heavy usage and multiple devices the Kindle ruins circles around the others AND you cannot transfer a privately owned/gift book to most applications, only to another Kindle. Authors and publishers tend to send their works in a PDF format which causes me no end of trouble but it is part of the job so I don’t complain. Bottom line: for very heavy users like me, the Kindle 3G Keyboard works best. It is dedicated and battery lasts much longer. I can walk over to my laptop/desktop if I really need to check my email or use my phone if i am desperate to read it.
I’ve been asked a lot why I have a Nook vs. a Kindle. The answer has always been an easy one too. I will now and always support book stores. I’ve owned 3 differnent nooks and gifted 2. After seeing the Kindles, I can add I own Nooks because I like them more too!
We have an iPad with both the apple and kindle apps loaded. The problem is when I start an ebook I have to then cope with my kids or my husband saying it is their turn on the iPad. Having a dedicated ereader I could actually finish a book in a day or two and not fight over access. Which I don’t have to do with a paper copy either.
Most local bookstores let you buy ebooks through their local link. They get a commision & you still keep the store in town to see books, go to reading clubs or visit with authors. If your town’s bookstore has already died support mine! (not my bookstore – my town’s bookstore)
Guess the link doesn’t show because of spam – try searching for Womrath’s. I love my bookstore so help! Thx.