Tough stuff to figure out...there are complex and conflicting issues at play for me. I am an avid reader and buyer of books. I bought a Kindle a year ago. I love local bookstores, especially the ones that allow you to inhabit the space via internet or coffee etc. I am a sucker for aesthetics and the ´experience´ of searching, perusing, smelling, feeling and discovering books is an addictive and deeply pleasurable hobby.
I wasn´t sure if I would enjoy a Kindle but I was traveling to Thailand and didn´t want to have to ´pick´ which books to haul and the thought of having countless current reads at my fingertips was sealed the deal and pushed me over the edge into digital ink vs paper. I am glad I did but...I have not lost my love for the hardcopy.
I discovered that for many books, the formatting on a Kindle stinks. Sidebars, graphs, etc...just seem congested on a Kindle. I have found that I generally buy the books that I am not sure about on Kindle. The cheaper...aspect, becomes a reason to risk the read. So I have developed ´categories´ in my book buying life.
But, I also still buy books from my local favorite, the Book Parlor. I like them, they are helpful and provide a ´place with a face´ and that is a part of my life that the ease and cheaper offerings of Amazon...can´t replace. So I make choices...will I buy this online at Amazon, local at the Book Parlor or am I forced to go out to the bog chains that often have what smaller independents don´t carry. Whatever the case, the freedom, speed and ability to make more choices is a result of all this that I am grateful to have. I am comforted to know that I almost always can have that book via Kindle if I really need it...today.
It is all about availability to me. I like shopping in bookstores like Auntie´s but if they don´t carry the book I am looking for, I will order it from Amazon.com.
Sure, I could order it from Auntie´s but I have found it is quicker if I order from Amazon after waiting a month and a half for a new release being "special ordered" at Auntie´s. I finally gave up and bought it on Amazon because the length of time it took for them to order the book at Auntie´s was unreasonable. Excuses about "the warehouse hasn´t shipped it yet" is not going to make me feel like waiting for Auntie´s to get the book in either.
So, I do try to shop locally but if they don´t have what i am looking for, I will turn to online to get what I want. Dec 14, 2011 |Reply to this comment
I agree. It´s hard to justify the ´process´ of ordering anything...when I could of or can order it myself these days and it will be quicker. I´m not sure how the I.B are going to overcome that reality. If they are banking on folks like us buying local simply out of convictions...I think they will go out of business. They have to rethink the business, specialize or morph to compete. Many Spokane book dealers just doesn´t get ´customer service´ either...the attitude of the indy places, lack of speed, poor diversity of content, and just lack of quality places is painful. I come from Portland and the Powell´s world, so i´ve been bitchin since 1998. Dec 15, 2011
I wasn´t sure if I would enjoy a Kindle but I was traveling to Thailand and didn´t want to have to ´pick´ which books to haul and the thought of having countless current reads at my fingertips was sealed the deal and pushed me over the edge into digital ink vs paper. I am glad I did but...I have not lost my love for the hardcopy.
I discovered that for many books, the formatting on a Kindle stinks. Sidebars, graphs, etc...just seem congested on a Kindle. I have found that I generally buy the books that I am not sure about on Kindle. The cheaper...aspect, becomes a reason to risk the read. So I have developed ´categories´ in my book buying life.
But, I also still buy books from my local favorite, the Book Parlor. I like them, they are helpful and provide a ´place with a face´ and that is a part of my life that the ease and cheaper offerings of Amazon...can´t replace. So I make choices...will I buy this online at Amazon, local at the Book Parlor or am I forced to go out to the bog chains that often have what smaller independents don´t carry. Whatever the case, the freedom, speed and ability to make more choices is a result of all this that I am grateful to have. I am comforted to know that I almost always can have that book via Kindle if I really need it...today.
That makes this book lover a happy man. Dec 14, 2011 | Reply to this comment
Sure, I could order it from Auntie´s but I have found it is quicker if I order from Amazon after waiting a month and a half for a new release being "special ordered" at Auntie´s. I finally gave up and bought it on Amazon because the length of time it took for them to order the book at Auntie´s was unreasonable. Excuses about "the warehouse hasn´t shipped it yet" is not going to make me feel like waiting for Auntie´s to get the book in either.
So, I do try to shop locally but if they don´t have what i am looking for, I will turn to online to get what I want. Dec 14, 2011 | Reply to this comment