Sad for a couple of reasons. Many, many, many years ago I used to work in downtown San Francisco. I hated my job. The only good part of it was going out at lunchtime and browsing in bookstores. There were a good number of new & used bookstores within walking distance of my office. Stacey's was one of them and I spent many lunch hours there looking and occasionally buying. I still have books that I bought there. I think the last time I was at Stacey's was about 2 years ago but it makes me feel like I'm losing something to hear that they are closing.
I admit it - I shop at Amazon. You can find just about anything, it's easy, convenient, no sales tax, cheaper prices. Ok, I'll just say it - I love Amazon. I can spend hours going through the list of recommendations & adding to my wishlist. But I also love bookstores. Online is great but it can't beat browsing, picking up a book to flip through it, finding something you didn't know you wanted (although that happens w/Amazon!) and just being in a building surrounded by books. My personal idea of heaven.
While retail sales over Christmas in stores declined this year, according to this data from Compete, on-line sales increased. I think it was inevitable that physical stores would fail as more people shop on-line. Again, it's easy, convenient, etc., etc. You can buy books, groceries, furniture, pretty much anything you want online. All without leaving your computer.
Life changes whether we want it or not. I don't know that it's good or bad - it just is. But tonight I feel like I'm losing something important. I'm afraid that 20 years from now I'll be saying things like, I remember when there were actual, physical bookstores you could walk into. And it will be ancient history for some people. That's sad.
Robin, the lonely (and sad) blog mistress
