NY Times: Bookstores are booming and becoming more diverse!

[Tomconroy]

Two years ago, the future of independent book selling looked bleak. As the coronavirus forced retailers to shut down, hundreds of small booksellers around the United States seemed doomed. Bookstore sales fell nearly 30 percent in 2020, U.S. Census Bureau data showed. The publishing industry was braced for a blow to its retail ecosystem, one that could permanently reshape the way readers discover and buy books.

Instead, something unexpected happened: Small booksellers not only survived the pandemic, but many are thriving.

“It’s kind of shocking when you think about what dire straits the stores were in in 2020,” said Allison Hill, the chief executive of the American Booksellers Association, a trade organization for independent bookstores. “We saw a rally like we’ve never seen before.”


Nyshell Lawrence's store carries titles by Black authors -- most of them women. Photographs by Ali Lapetina for The New York Times
The association now has 2,023 member stores in 2,561 locations, up from 1,689 in early July of 2020. Some of the growth reflects the renewal of memberships by existing stores that put off doing it last year amid the uncertainly caused by the pandemic. But there has also been a sharp and sustained rise in new bookshops, and more than 200 additional stores are preparing to open in the next year or two, Ms. Hill said.

Some Surprising Good News: Bookstores Are Booming and Becoming More Diverse https://nyti.ms/3IsNLXC

[Sympthsical]

1. I just added five books to my kindle app

They all came from a certain online library, but hey, I'm reading! (Actually, they're all books I used to own but lost in various moves, etc.)

I think part of it is twofold: The pandemic got a lot more people reading when they were home all the time. Once people started reading, they realized how worthless the chain stores are (and expensive!)

Independent bookstores simply have more interesting selections. With apps like Good Reads and subReddits, etc., smaller books that succeed on word of mouth are becoming more of a thing. More diversity in authors, more diversity in genres and stories, more diversity in kinds of stories. And if the smaller bookstore has the lesser read author you have a good experience with, you'll assume they have other authors and works that are similarly good.

The only time I walk into a Barnes and Noble these days is if I'm nearby and looking for a bathroom or a quick coffee. You go in there and see what's on the table. Pulpy NYT bestsellers that are vapid and commercial. Various books by political figures or cable news hosts trying to make a buck. Tons of self-help garbage. "Embrace Your Inner You With the Power of Orange," and then you're disappointed to find it doesn't say anything about Protestantism or excellent Dutch leaders. Walking past, all I can think is, "I don't want to read any of that."

I honestly don't know how they're still in business.

[Tomconroy]

2. Amazon is great if you know what you want. Not so great

if you know you want something but aren't sure what.

[Sympthsical]

3. Exactly

That's why I like Good Reads. I have a network of friends on it so I can see what everyone is reading. Certain friends I trust more than others, lol. If they recommend it, I'm a lot likelier to put it on my list.

I've found so many authors and books I'd never heard of that way.

[cagefreesoylentgreen]

4. Chain bookstores are soul killing

The last Barnes & Noble I set foot in looked more like a toy store than a bookstore. Yeah, I get they have to stay afloat somehow, but it was still depressing. The employees were lovely as always, though.

They also didn’t have a unabridged, un-Anglicized version of Verne’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” I loaded the text from Project Gutenberg onto my Kindle, but I’m still searching for a hard copy.