Rachel Cooke on what online book retailers lack in comparison to a conventional brick and mortar bookstores that we’re use to -
Amazon does not set the synapses crackling the way the sight of a pristine shelf of books does: it does not surprise you, nor does it fuel book hunger. You click on what you came for, and then you leave. This, then, is where the independent store, with its carefully edited collection, comes in.
I’ve bragged enough about what a wonderful and practical piece of hardware the Kindle has been that it’s sickening at times but not at one point have I ever lost the fascination that exist in visiting a bookstore despite not ever actually buying a book.
For me it’s more about the experience than it is about what’s offered because at the end of the day, physical stores have fewer books, higher prices, and offer less valuable information than anywhere online. Come to think of it, if that’s the case, maybe it’s the adjacent Starbucks to the B&N that keeps me coming back more than anything.
I think the grounds by which some people still buy books in stores is either because they’re still fearful of purchasing anything online or they just want the book right away to indulge in. I fall in the category of people that roam the store examining books that draw their attention, they take notes of the author or title and subsequently make their purchase online or on the Kindle.
