Bookstores are dying off--a bitter pill for readers, bookstore owners and writers to swallow. Why aren't we gathering together in protest, carrying our signs and demanding that someone save our our beloved stores?
Okay . . . protests may be a bit much, but we aren't helpless. We don't have to allow the stores to fail and drop by the wayside. We do have power. It's time to stand up to the bookstore slayers like Amazon and say, "Enough is enough."
Here in my town, we've already lost our bookstores. It's hard to believe.
Have you envisioned a world without bookstores? Will our only local choices be Walmart or Fred Meyer? That would be ugly -- best sellers only and almost no Christian fiction.
What can we do? First take a look at Ann Patchett. She did something. You can read her story at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/us/ann-patchett-bucks-bookstore-tide-opening-her-own.html?smid.
Hooray for Ann! And there are others of you out there who are able to follow in her footsteps. Please don't wait. We need independent bookstores. The world just won't be the same without them.
If you're in the market and are managing a successful bookstore teach others how to do it. If you're struggling reach out for help, study the market, work smart and get creative. If you do "Readears will come".
And readers, we must band together. Buy books at your local stores. Remember how it used to be--a friendly local merchant chatted with you and often recommended just the right book, we used to get together with other readers and compare best reads, aisles filled with books, the smell of ink. Buying a book with the click of a button is easier but at what cost? Think about it before you click again.
I'm not anti kindle. After all, as a writer I make money off ebook sales. And I sometimes purchase books online, usually used books that I need for research, but I do shop online from time to time. Maybe there's room for both the hometown store and the online store. I'm just asking that you remember your local stores and don't turn your back on them. The owners work hard, they've made a huge investment of time, money and heart. And I have trouble with mega stores that have too much power and too much control over what we read. And personal? I don't think so.
Give it some thought. Here in my town we miss our local stores. The nearest full service bookstore is now ninety miles from my home. Such a sad outcome for me and other local readers. Ninety miles is a long drive to buy a book.
Grace and peace to you from God.
Bonnie
