Will there be "book" stores 5 years from now?

[jerry limonta]

We've all seen the onslaught of ereading devices like the Kindle and Nook as well as the new line of recently launched tablet readers and I'm wondering if / when do you think paper will books will go the way of records, cds and other mediums replaced by new technology.

If you're not familiar with the 30 + ereading devices now available you can view them at http://www.ereaderuniverse.com

[Caron Chester]

I think (hope) there will always be Bookstores for there will always be true book lovers. There is nothing that can replicate the feeling and smell of a book. How do you snuggle up with a good ereader on a cold winters night. How do you lend your favourite ebooks to friends. How ugly will an ebookcase look!
Books have been around for thousands of years, they are not a fad.
No, I don't think Bookstores will disappear. I think they will change, but nothing can replace a real book.
~Blessings to all~

[jerry limonta]

Wouldn't it be ideal if you could buy a book and for a fraction more get the ebook version as well?
This way we can keep all that we love about books but when were on the run, traveling etc we could pick up where we left off on our digital versions ?

Hmmmmm. Maybe publishers and ereader manufactures should look at joining forces instead of trying to see who will prevail. Maybe just maybe we all can.

[Caron Chester]

Sounds good to me!

[jerry limonta]

WOW now THIS is what the future of digital reading will look like. Amazing

http://www.ereaderuniverse.com/profiles/blogs/its-official-i-have-s...

[Caron Chester]

OK!...... So I am sold on it for magazines....that was incredible.
But will never be sold on it replacing books.

[Idzan Ismail]

I think book stores won't die. Nothing like shelves and shelves of books to browse and buy. And ah, the smell of new book.Cheers Idzan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

[jerry limonta]

It's great to see responses coming in from Malaysia .. it's AMAZING how small the world has become !!!

[M.D. Griffith]

I definately think there will be book stores 20 years from now. Business is always brisk and people love handling something real and not reading from a screen....at least for the large part. jmo

[Stacy-Deanne]

I think we need to address the biggest issues bookstores are facing. What I think really threatens bookstores right now is the lack of people that are going. I hear people all the time online saying they love to go to bookstores and browse. I do too. Yet when I go, I see hardly anyone these days. For the last few years bookstores have been empty. Barnes and Noble have way more people than Borders (who sometimes will only have five at the most), but then B&N shoppers have dropped off dramatically. There have been many bookstores closing here in Houston and this is a huge city. Another scary thing is that no one is replacing bookstores with bookstores when they close. We used to have bookstores in every mall and I believe all those have closed because they were Waldenbooks and Borders are closing all those stores. I can't speak for where other people live, but living in one of the biggest cities in the US (Houston) and seeing how a city with almost 4 million people can't fill their MANY chains of bookstores...it's not looking pretty. And we are some book lovers here!!! But obviously they aren't shopping in these stores.

I can't even say it's the economy because it's been like this for a while. Why aren't people shopping in these bookstores? I don't care what time of day I go or when, I can count on my hand the people that's in there. Not to mention how many employees some of the bookstores have let go because there isn't enough business. It looks as though the shoppers at the bookstores have dropped 60 or more percent in the bookstores I usually go to since 2000. That's very scary.

I don't think ereaders and ebooks are the real challenge to bookstores. If people aren't going, that's the real problem. Where are all the booklovers when you go to the store? How come these bookstores aren't packed even on weekends and holidays? Seems to me the stores would be packed if people were going on a regular basis and if so many people loved to shop at bookstores. I can't tell you the last time I've seen more than ten people at one time in any Borders store I've gone to in the last few years.

It's sad. People say they like bookstores because they are sociable? Lately the ones I used to go to have been so depressing I can't stand to go in them. It's like they are on their last leg.

The bottom line is not what we believe will prevail, ebooks or physical. Let's get to the black and white of it. Unless these bookstores around here now, figure a way to get folks into the stores on a regular basis, they are not going to be able to last. I admit that sounds sad but it's the truth. You can't stay in business if you don't have any shoppers. So the bookstores need to find a way to get people back into these stores. And what's really bad is that when people are in the bookstores, there they aren't buying books. They are buying DVD's, bluerays and music! What's wrong with this picture? Probably less than half the customers are actually buying books. And what's the worst about that is that this is probably what's keeping bookstores in business, selling everything but books.

I know it's not just the stores I go to or just in Houston. I have relatives and friends in different places and they say the same thing. In fact one of the indie stores my friend used to love to go to was around in her area for decades and it closed down without warning, nothing. One day she went to buy books and there was a sign on the door. The Indie bookstores are already dropping like flies! It's very eye-opening if you look at the bigger picture.

It doesn't matter what any of us think about ereaders and physical books. That's not the big picture. The big picture is if bookstores don't drive folks into these stores THAT'S what can be the death of them. People are reading a lot yes. Don't let things fool you. People are reading now more than ever but where most people used to get their books out the stores, they now order them or go to the library. Amazon is another thing that bookstores underestimated. They didn't expect it to be such competition well now Amazon is practically running the game. Whether you want a physical book or an ebook, Amazon is capitalizing on that and looks like right now they are winning by the sight of the empty bookstores I'm seeing.

That's what we need to be thinking of. How are bookstores going to compete if more and more people stop shopping there? I hear book lovers say they "love to shop in stores" all the time. I can't tell you how much. Yet where are they when you go in there? Either they have begun to get their books online or turned to ebooks or both. Either way, they are not crowding the stores.

Bookstores have a bigger problem to worry about than ebooks and their fans. I can't remember the last time I went to a bookstore around here and it was packed.

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[Jaime Huff]

That's a shame that's been your turn out. I am in Phoenix, yes, another major city here in the US. The Barnes and Nobles that I visit (one near a mall in a lower socioeconomic neighborhood, one in a suburb in the north east part of the valley in a very very well to do area, and another one in an urban wealthier neighborhood) and they are packed with shoppers. I have only seen them empty in the AM. There are book clubs meeting in the coffee shops (one has a Seattle's Best and the other two have Starbucks) and I see people sitting around reading and purchasing. Maybe mine are just the anomaly but it was also the same when I went back home to the midwest. Bookstores were still busy. However, inside the malls, well malls are crumbling here. They have turned in to virtual ghettos with junk stores and most of the decent stores not renewing their leases (Dillards, Yankee Candle, etc) and moving to nice shopping centers. So, the B Dalton BookSellers and Waldenbooks are long gone.

However, the bookstores that I do see that are the busiest are the Independent book stores that deal in used and new (also love to feature local authors). Also, they branched off to music, movies, board games, and even host clubs for free (Browncoats - yes, Firefly fans, Ayn Rand Objectivism discussion groups, scrabble nights, kid yoga, movies, etc.). Those events bring customers and then those customers browse and buy the new books and the used.

[Caron Chester]

That sounds wonderful. I love the idea of the bookstores offering other activities such as board games. I also like the idea of new and used books in the same store.
I love second hand book shops! Could spend weeks on end, without food, just water, and be blissfully happy.
Every time I'm in a second hand bookshop there are always plenty of people coming and going (and buying books).

[Stacy-Deanne]

That's great the Indies are doing so well there. I know a lot have closed in some places. Yeah some events do help if the bookstores organize them correctly. I know some stores now barely have book signings. B&N still does. There's some Houston based stores that have lots of signings too.

Best Wishes!