Big-Box Bookstores Don’t Have to Die

You could say I have a sentimental attachment to the chain bookstore. Growing up in an intellectually impoverished American suburb, I spent much of my free time in now-defunct locations of Borders and Barnes & Noble. I read garbage, mostly: popular history magazines, Star Trek novelizations, art tomes whose pages I scoured only for frank depictions of naked women. But I had an intuitive sense that all those “wordy” books sleeping on the shelves, whose spines I raced my finger along while traveling between the café and the restrooms, would some day be the building blocks of a real, adult mind, the cathedral-like dimensions of which I could almost picture emerging through the haze of my juvenile enthusiasms. Inside Barnes & Noble, the figures of great literature literally looked down on me. A large wallpapered mural assembled them all in some grand ahistorical café. It was through that mural that I had my first encounters with the brooding fop Oscar Wilde and the fabulously bearded Anthony Trollope. Continue reading at 'Slate'

[ Slate | 2015-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #barnes noble #naked women #building blocks

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Big-Box Bookstores Don’t Have to Die

You could say I have a sentimental attachment to the chain bookstore. Growing up in an intellectually impoverished American suburb, I spent much of my free time in now-defunct locations of Borders and Barnes & Noble. I read garbage, mostly: popular history magazines, Star Trek novelizations,... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2015-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #barnes noble #naked women #building blocks


Bring Back the Big, Comfortable Bookstore Reading Chair

This was a regular feature of my childhood, though it feels so long ago and far away, conceptually as well as literally, that I nearly forgot it ever happened: I’d go into town to the mall with my mom, and she’d drop me at the doors of the Borders or Barnes and Noble while she […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-02-19 09:55:59 UTC ]
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Neal Sofman, Longtime Bookstore Owner, Dies at 75

The co-owner of San Francisco's Bookshop West Portal and founder of onetime Bay Area bookselling staple A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, died on September 6. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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How Annie Ernaux Captures the Spirit of Her Era Through Its Big-Box Stores

Alison L. Strayer is an award-winning writer and translator. Her work has been shortlisted twice for the Governor’s General Award for Literature and for Translation. Her translation of Annie Ernaux’s The Years was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2019 and won the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-19 08:59:35 UTC ]
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Bookstore Sales Start 2023 with Big Gains

Bookstore sales posted surprisingly strong gains in January, jumping 15.9% over 2022. Sales in January 2023 were $997 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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David Marcuse, who ran bookstores for liberal clientele, dies at 73

His Common Concerns bookstore in Washington became a left-wing community resource in the 1980s. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-05-13 18:04:58 UTC ]
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Nach Waxman, Founder of a Bookstore Where Foodies Flock, Dies at 84

A “kitchen anthropologist,” he created a mecca in Manhattan for chefs, writers, scholars, everyday cooks and anyone else who is, well, hungry for culinary knowledge. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-08-08 00:23:01 UTC ]
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In Blood and Ash, Blue Box Press Finds a Big Hit

The fledgling full-length fiction imprint of M.J. Rose and friends' Evil Eye Concepts is spreading its wings, with social media word-of-mouth driving remarkably strong sales for a new fantasy series by Jennifer L. Armenstrout. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Literati Gets Big Money for Book Boxes

The Austin, Tex.–based book box subscription service has pulled in more than $50 million recently. Here's what's happening. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Black-Owned Bookstore Offers “Ally Box” Book Subscription: Critical Linking, June 5, 2020

An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-06-05 10:30:41 UTC ]
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Once seen as a dying business, city bookstores are gaining ground

In his more than 30 years selling books on the Upper West Side, Chris Doeblin has weathered competition from Barnes and Noble and Amazon and the ascent of e-readers. He has figured out how to mix... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2019-09-23 12:00:00 UTC ]
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A Big Texas Welcome to Lark & Owl Bookstore! (shelftalker)

Cocktails on draft, striking design elements, and a strong sense of community energize a hip new indie bookstore. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-07-19 12:00:10 UTC ]
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This dying bookstore has a proposal for NYC: Just treat us like you treated Amazon

Book Culture, based in the same Queens neighborhood where Amazon wanted to set up shop, says it will be forced to close if the city or state doesn’t offer assistance. In New York City’s Long Island City neighborhood, down the road from where Amazon tried (and failed) to build a “second... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-06-26 15:56:45 UTC ]
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Big-box retailers set their sights on digital NewFronts

The Digital Content NewFronts have always been a smorgasbord of little-known startups, mixed among the publishing stalwarts, searching for their big breaks the one time of year the whole industry is paying attention. But this year, it’s not the little guys with their internet-friendly names... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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November Bookstore Sales See Big Gain

Bookstore sales in November jumped to $729 million, up from $663 million a year ago. The jump marks an increase of 9.9%, and is culled from preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ABA Winter Institute 2016: Big Plans for April’s Independent Bookstore Day

Last year’s inaugural national Independent Bookstore Day, which coincided with Free Comic Book Day on May 2, was a huge success. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three indie bookstores file lawsuit against Amazon and Big Six publishers

The stores charge that secret agreements made between the publishers and Amazon give Amazon the advantage in selling ebooks, but some industry observers find flaws in their logic. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent bookstore owner invests in online bookstore famous for destroying independent bookstores.

Nancy Bass Wyden, owner of New York City’s Strand Bookstore—one of the largest independent bookstores in the country—purchased stock in Amazon three times between April 6 and May 1, totaling somewhere between $115,000 and $250,000, according to Barron’s. If you’ll recall this was a time period... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-05 16:29:38 UTC ]
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PW Bookstore of the Year 2024 Finalist: Writer’s Block Bookstore

In the past decade, Writer’s Block, which sells new books for both adults and children, has become a literary hub of the Greater Orlando metro area. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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