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 ]
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[ BBC News | 2016-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookstore News: September 2, 2016

Ralph Nader is trying his hand at bookselling; B&N is prepping its next concept store in Texas; a Boise bookstore is celebrating its 10th birthday; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Long Live The Last Bookstore

When Josh Spencer opened The Last Bookstore in downtown Los Angeles, he thought it was going to fail within three years due to the declining state of the book industry. That’s why he chose the boldly ironic name. But The Last Bookstore has thrived. In this documentary from Chad Howitt, Welcome... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2016-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookstore News: August 31, 2016

New stores open their doors in Illinois and Ontario, Canada; stores in Maryland and California prep for relocation celebrations; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Global publisher rankings show big groups getting bigger

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[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookstore News: August 29, 2016

New stores open in Texas and Minnesota; established stores celebrate their first 40 years in Vermont and California; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon to open bookstores in Chicago and Portland

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[ Engadget | 2016-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Global Publishing Leaders 2016: Woongjin Think Big

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Opening a Physical Bookstore in Chicago

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookstore News: August 25, 2016

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PRH Canada Opens Toronto Bookstore

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Morton Schindel, Who Turned Children’s Books Into Animated Films, Dies at 98

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[ The New York Times | 2016-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Growing Chinese journals market 'too big to ignore', PA report says

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[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookstore News: August 23, 2016

A Georgia bookstore preps for its grand opening; a Cleveland bookstore launches a magazine and adds record shop; a South Carolina bookseller celebrates his 50th year on the job; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Bookstore News: August 22, 2016

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indies land in Ohio and North Carolina; Amazon unveils new pickup location in the Windy City; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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