As the year comes to a close, we're all slammed with hoards of "best of" lists -- Best Books, Best Kids Books, Best Cook Books, etc. On top of that, from Google eBooks to storybook apps, we all come face-to-face with upbeat news about the shifting landscape of the publishing industry ...
But what about the less-cheery news that's left behind? Why not reflect on the changes sweeping the industry from a more realist viewpoint?
A reality we all face, even if books continue to sell well, is that over the past few years more and more bookstores, independents and majors alike, have shut their doors for good.
On that note, Mike Shatzkin, publishing industry guru and consultant, wrote this week on his blog The Shatzkin Files:
I'm expecting that what brick-and-mortar booksellers will experience in the first six months of 2011 will be the most difficult time they've ever seen, with challenges escalating beyond what most of them are now imagining or budgeting for. If I were programming a show for six months from now for the book industry, I'd plan for that to be Topic A.
From massive Barnes & Nobles to tiny mom and pop operations, bookstores across the globe have faced impossible odds this past decade. And the pace of bookstore closing has only accelerated over the past few years.
As we say goodbye to this decade, we also must say farewell to these former booksellers ...
Here's just a tiny compendium of the bookstore closings of the decade. Which other stores do you remember fondly? Let us know in the comments section below.
Readers' World
(South Muskoka, Canada)
The Book Room (Halifax, Canada)
Jay's Book Stall (Pittsburgh, PA)
Book & Brier Patch (Saskatchewan, Canada)
McNally-Robinson (Toronto, Canada)
Good Yarns (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY)
Open Book (Greenville, SC)
Sophia Books (Vancouver, Canada)
Waldenbooks (Wilkes Barre, PA)
Volume II Books (Edmonton, Canada)
Waldenbooks (San Antonio, TX)
Borders Express (Attleboro, MA)
Urban Think! (Orlando, FL)
Duthie Books (Vancouver, Canada)
Berean Book (Central Illinois)
Dutton's (Los Angeles, CA)
The Open Book (Greenville, SC)
Rock Point Books (Chattanooga, TN)
Barnes & Noble (Lincoln Square, NY)
Borders (South Beach, San Francisco)
Barnes & Noble (Fisherman's Wharf, SF, CA)
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