Do you shop your books online? (no judgement) Or do you prefer physical browsing, and if so, where do you go? Let's talk bookstore down below in the comments some more! And when you're done, why not find out about the shocking truth behind the NY Times Bestseller list in this video: ua-cam.com/video/k7MLig25dEY/v-deo.html
As convenient and easy as it is to buy a book online, I would NEVER want to miss the experience of a small bookstore with well-selected books. The experience in such a bookstore is simply and finally a completely different one than it could ever be online. Not only because of the encounters with other people, it can also be very inspiring to get lost in a bookshop and pick up books and read through them that you wouldn't have come across online because of the more targeted nature of shopping. The nice old lady who was the heart of my favorite bookstore until a few years ago, who wasn't too shy to even offer you a piece of cake if you had been reading books for hours, is something that Amazon will never have: a heart and a soul. And that's why I hope and believe that small bookshops will never die out. Because that would mean an important part of our culture would die out.
I do a mix of all the above mentioned. I generally don’t buy a physical copy unless it’s a book I know I love and or in an edition I like… and so a lot of the time I won’t mind buying books for my kindle - especially through the daily deals which for 83p or 99p for something that’s probably quite popular is kind of like walking into one of the “bargain shops” and getting to the check out and realising you’ve spent so much but are shocked to how this happened 😂 Nothing beats the bookshop experience though - a big chain , a small independent once that book smell is in the air … my anxieties float away and I’m in a happy place - added bonus if there’s coffee I tell you though who has really upped their game here though - libraries - offering ebooks and audiobooks and if you borrow a physical copy being able to drop it back to any library and your card working for any library nationally too ! Game changer ! ❤
I agree, libraries have been the tip of the spear when it came to these changes we see: they opened up their collect with many formats, started doing their own events, … These days, I rarely lend books from my library, but I do go there to work and drink coffee, since it’s such an agreeable place 😋
Great question and I'm loving reading the comments. There are no independent booksellers here (west Texas) anymore, only the big box ones. I don't buy books from them or Amazon. I buy new books from an online independent bookseller in Wichita, Kansas because I used to live there and that's where an old friend still shops for his books. But the vast majority of books I buy (about 100 a year) are used, from Better World Books, a not-for-profit company that promotes world literacy. I also have been trying to be mindful of my own consumerism so recently have been using my public library more and reading digital books via OpenLibrary (which was currently cyber attacked and they are still trying to bring all their services back online). When I'm done with books, I donate them to one of several nearby Little Free Libraries and to our local Friends of the Library that sells them at low prices, the money is to support our public library. All that is to say I try to make my money support communities who actually love books, not billionaires who use their sickening huge stockpiles of cash to influence politicians.
I have bought online this year including some from amazon just because my budget is limited. Many years ago I remember Borders opening in London & it was over several floors included a cafe & toilets. Despite being popular it either went bust or was sold. Once the net book agreement was abolished that set prices across the country then online could discount & undercut the small bookshops. It is worse now as supermarkets have been allowed to sell the bestseller paperbacks. Bear in mind that despite its large population the USA doesn't buy many books compared to other countries that's why the likes of Barnes & Noble can dominate the market. Traditional books shops can always beat online with talks, signings, random discoveries & I was fortunate to meet Simon Jones ( actor behind Arthur Dent, HHGTTG) by chance in Waterstones and have a very nice chat for about 10 minutes.
It’s always great to me an author and actually chat books, isn’t? Supermarkets here sell books as well, but people hardly ever buy those. It’s just not the place to buy books, it feels ‘wrong’
You have made another video that is stimulating! I do miss the community of going to independent book stores and kind booksellers who would call me to tell me about a book that they think I would love. I also adored afternoons spent in used book stores complete with tottering stacks--they were like treasure hunts. I found both types be welcoming places. Now I find tribe comradery via booktube, Goodreads, public librarians, and asking random people I meet if they read and if they do what they like to read. My dream would be a present day Parnassus with an old ice cream truck. ;)
I do sometimes buy books online, but I use sites like Better World Books, Thriftbooks, ALibris. My budget sort of forces me to buy used books, which is fine. I've gotten some lovely books that are former library copies that way. My local library (and I'm sure many others) has also added all kinds of things to their offerings, as bookstores have. Still a shame about Borders Books closing. Locally I shop at Powell's Books (Portland, OR). I love to wander the aisles and see what I can find.
With my severe social anxiety I shop for books almost entirely online and this as long as we are able to order books online in Austria (I started ordering from 'Amadeus', which suddenly disappeared and became 'Thalia'). But I found one independent bookstore here in Vienna which also sells online, so I'm also happily ordering from them 😊
I do enjoy strolling through a brick and mortar shop to peruse the shelves, but I prefer buying used rather than new, so mainly stick to stores such as my local Half Price Book outlet. Otherwise I purchase from online sources of used books. I do occasionally order new books on Amazon though. I’m excited to say I have not one but TWO new Indy book shops opening soon in towns within 30 minutes of mine so I’ll definitely be checking those out!
no online shop can replace the joy of wandering around in a bookshop. no marketing algorithm can provide the fun of finding new books yourself. we have 4 different bookshops in the mall close to me 3 of them serve coffee. 2 of them are my comfort zones. If i'm at the mall for something else i still go in and look around. Sometimes you just don't want to wait for the shipping to arrive. Chain shops don't usually deal with second hand books so I think those are going to stay too. There are still record shops for example
Very interesting topic! Unfortunately, our local independent bookstores are indeed dinosaurs with dusty high shelves that you may not reach. 😀 And the person behind the counter keeps an eye on you so that no book dissapears. 🤭 There are also large bookstores, which could be social hubs but still few and only in the very big cities of the country (Romania). Here, bookish events are organized by publishers, not by the bookstores. Small bookstores rely more on selling stationery. Will see in time! I prefer to order 📚 online.
Okay, I have to confess: I buy nearly all of my books online via amazon. I quite frequently use the market place due to a limited budget and an unsatiable hunger for books (an unhealthy combination, I know.) The only real life bookstore I ever visit (also much too often) is one which exclusevely sells used books for a very modest price to support social projects in my hometown. I know that customers like myself are the death of (independen) bookshops, but I try to justify my buying pattern with the fact that I for the most part read english books (not as easily available in Germany, even in a big city, as in the Netherlands), and my taste in books is far from the top twenty "Spiegel Bestsellerliste". So why go to a bookshop and let them order my books for me and then go there second time to pick them up when I can easily do it myself without even getting out of my reading chair, right? :))
I totally understand and the lack of English books in Germany has always astonished me. I was talking to a publisher only this weekend who was at the recent Buchmesse and they said they were about the only vendor with English books.
If I lived in UK I’d be an exclusive bookshop goer but being where I am in U.S. I have to settle for the occasional online shop. Amazon is my last choice. Dead last.
Not exactly. It’s just the combination of the automobile culture vs walkable or mass transit and the relatability of the stores closest to me. Second hand is a better fit for me here. I will say my local B&N is very nice just unpleasant location.
Do you shop your books online? (no judgement) Or do you prefer physical browsing, and if so, where do you go? Let's talk bookstore down below in the comments some more!
And when you're done, why not find out about the shocking truth behind the NY Times Bestseller list in this video:
ua-cam.com/video/k7MLig25dEY/v-deo.html
As convenient and easy as it is to buy a book online, I would NEVER want to miss the experience of a small bookstore with well-selected books. The experience in such a bookstore is simply and finally a completely different one than it could ever be online. Not only because of the encounters with other people, it can also be very inspiring to get lost in a bookshop and pick up books and read through them that you wouldn't have come across online because of the more targeted nature of shopping.
The nice old lady who was the heart of my favorite bookstore until a few years ago, who wasn't too shy to even offer you a piece of cake if you had been reading books for hours, is something that Amazon will never have: a heart and a soul. And that's why I hope and believe that small bookshops will never die out. Because that would mean an important part of our culture would die out.
‘A heart and a soul’ is a great way to describe that extra smaller bookstores offer.
I do a mix of all the above mentioned. I generally don’t buy a physical copy unless it’s a book I know I love and or in an edition I like… and so a lot of the time I won’t mind buying books for my kindle - especially through the daily deals which for 83p or 99p for something that’s probably quite popular is kind of like walking into one of the “bargain shops” and getting to the check out and realising you’ve spent so much but are shocked to how this happened 😂
Nothing beats the bookshop experience though - a big chain , a small independent once that book smell is in the air … my anxieties float away and I’m in a happy place - added bonus if there’s coffee
I tell you though who has really upped their game here though - libraries - offering ebooks and audiobooks and if you borrow a physical copy being able to drop it back to any library and your card working for any library nationally too ! Game changer ! ❤
I agree, libraries have been the tip of the spear when it came to these changes we see: they opened up their collect with many formats, started doing their own events, … These days, I rarely lend books from my library, but I do go there to work and drink coffee, since it’s such an agreeable place 😋
Great question and I'm loving reading the comments. There are no independent booksellers here (west Texas) anymore, only the big box ones. I don't buy books from them or Amazon. I buy new books from an online independent bookseller in Wichita, Kansas because I used to live there and that's where an old friend still shops for his books. But the vast majority of books I buy (about 100 a year) are used, from Better World Books, a not-for-profit company that promotes world literacy. I also have been trying to be mindful of my own consumerism so recently have been using my public library more and reading digital books via OpenLibrary (which was currently cyber attacked and they are still trying to bring all their services back online). When I'm done with books, I donate them to one of several nearby Little Free Libraries and to our local Friends of the Library that sells them at low prices, the money is to support our public library.
All that is to say I try to make my money support communities who actually love books, not billionaires who use their sickening huge stockpiles of cash to influence politicians.
*applauds* ☺️
I have bought online this year including some from amazon just because my budget is limited.
Many years ago I remember Borders opening in London & it was over several floors included a cafe & toilets. Despite being popular it either went bust or was sold.
Once the net book agreement was abolished that set prices across the country then online could discount & undercut the small bookshops. It is worse now as supermarkets have been allowed to sell the bestseller paperbacks.
Bear in mind that despite its large population the USA doesn't buy many books compared to other countries that's why the likes of Barnes & Noble can dominate the market.
Traditional books shops can always beat online with talks, signings, random discoveries & I was fortunate to meet Simon Jones ( actor behind Arthur Dent, HHGTTG) by chance in Waterstones and have a very nice chat for about 10 minutes.
It’s always great to me an author and actually chat books, isn’t? Supermarkets here sell books as well, but people hardly ever buy those. It’s just not the place to buy books, it feels ‘wrong’
You have made another video that is stimulating!
I do miss the community of going to independent book stores and kind booksellers who would call me to tell me about a book that they think I would love. I also adored afternoons spent in used book stores complete with tottering stacks--they were like treasure hunts. I found both types be welcoming places. Now I find tribe comradery via booktube, Goodreads, public librarians, and asking random people I meet if they read and if they do what they like to read. My dream would be a present day Parnassus with an old ice cream truck. ;)
Still including the ice cream, right? 🤭
@@cafeaulivre LOL. Sure, why not? Needs a name....Sticky Pages?
@@cafeaulivre Cones and Covers
Oooh, I like this one 🍦
Independent bookstores need to have a good online presence if they want to survive.
As in a webstore? Or social media? Or… ?
@@cafeaulivre Social media. People spend a lot of time there.
Oh quite…I’m ashamed every week when my own screen time report comes in 🫣
I do sometimes buy books online, but I use sites like Better World Books, Thriftbooks, ALibris. My budget sort of forces me to buy used books, which is fine. I've gotten some lovely books that are former library copies that way. My local library (and I'm sure many others) has also added all kinds of things to their offerings, as bookstores have. Still a shame about Borders Books closing. Locally I shop at Powell's Books (Portland, OR). I love to wander the aisles and see what I can find.
Libraries here do a big sale each year and it’s a stampede, but if you are willing to brave the masses, there are some great opportunities to be had.
With my severe social anxiety I shop for books almost entirely online and this as long as we are able to order books online in Austria (I started ordering from 'Amadeus', which suddenly disappeared and became 'Thalia').
But I found one independent bookstore here in Vienna which also sells online, so I'm also happily ordering from them 😊
Im happy online shopping is a solution for you ☺️
I do enjoy strolling through a brick and mortar shop to peruse the shelves, but I prefer buying used rather than new, so mainly stick to stores such as my local Half Price Book outlet. Otherwise I purchase from online sources of used books. I do occasionally order new books on Amazon though. I’m excited to say I have not one but TWO new Indy book shops opening soon in towns within 30 minutes of mine so I’ll definitely be checking those out!
I love indy book shops, they are an ideal way of discovering new books and authors
no online shop can replace the joy of wandering around in a bookshop. no marketing algorithm can provide the fun of finding new books yourself. we have 4 different bookshops in the mall close to me 3 of them serve coffee. 2 of them are my comfort zones. If i'm at the mall for something else i still go in and look around. Sometimes you just don't want to wait for the shipping to arrive. Chain shops don't usually deal with second hand books so I think those are going to stay too. There are still record shops for example
The key sentence here for me is when you say: ‘they are my comfort zones’ Exactly that is why I don’t think independent bookstores will vanish. ☺️
Very interesting topic! Unfortunately, our local independent bookstores are indeed dinosaurs with dusty high shelves that you may not reach. 😀 And the person behind the counter keeps an eye on you so that no book dissapears. 🤭 There are also large bookstores, which could be social hubs but still few and only in the very big cities of the country (Romania). Here, bookish events are organized by publishers, not by the bookstores. Small bookstores rely more on selling stationery.
Will see in time! I prefer to order 📚 online.
It’s very interesting to see the differences in different countries ☺️
Okay, I have to confess: I buy nearly all of my books online via amazon. I quite frequently use the market place due to a limited budget and an unsatiable hunger for books (an unhealthy combination, I know.) The only real life bookstore I ever visit (also much too often) is one which exclusevely sells used books for a very modest price to support social projects in my hometown. I know that customers like myself are the death of (independen) bookshops, but I try to justify my buying pattern with the fact that I for the most part read english books (not as easily available in Germany, even in a big city, as in the Netherlands), and my taste in books is far from the top twenty "Spiegel Bestsellerliste". So why go to a bookshop and let them order my books for me and then go there second time to pick them up when I can easily do it myself without even getting out of my reading chair, right? :))
I totally understand and the lack of English books in Germany has always astonished me. I was talking to a publisher only this weekend who was at the recent Buchmesse and they said they were about the only vendor with English books.
I hope bookstores never become obsolete😢
I don’t think they ever will…that would be a bleak future.
I love independent book stores but they are very dangerous places for me.
I am not allowed in unsupervised anymore 🤣
@cafeaulivre Me too. I spend way too much money and then disappear completely into books for weeks after.
Personally, I don’t see the problem, but again, I repeatedly told I’m wrong 😋
If I lived in UK I’d be an exclusive bookshop goer but being where I am in U.S. I have to settle for the occasional online shop. Amazon is my last choice. Dead last.
And that’s because there are no physical bookstores anywhere nearby?
Not exactly. It’s just the combination of the automobile culture vs walkable or mass transit and the relatability of the stores closest to me. Second hand is a better fit for me here. I will say my local B&N is very nice just unpleasant location.
I totally get that…and second hand can offer some great finds!