> It's important to remember that independent bookstores are doing great!
The independent stores that you think are doing great are not what many fans of independent bookshops are thinking of by the words “independent bookstores”.
I fondly look back on certain 1990s independent bookshops that had enormous stock, and books were all they sold. But these days, many independent bookshops have trimmed their book inventories to a bare minimum of “new and select books” like you speak of. Small bookshops have felt the same pressures as the large chains, and in the place of actual books come things like vinyl records, Kikkerland products, and fancy teas. That might help them stay afloat financially, but for actual book lovers, it feels like the soul has been ripped out of the shop, like the proprietors are not bibliophiles themselves.
One of the reasons I don't like B&N is because I feel it's a store no longer dedicated to books. They have books, but it's also a gift store, a toy store, and a stationery store. From just my estimate, I feel about 40 percent of its floor-space is for non-book items.
Another book chain in Canada, Indigo Books, operates similarly.
I think the last bastions for book-lovers are used bookstores. Also, Powell's in Portland seems quite dedicated to selling books of all sorts.
Powell’s is more of a tourist destination. Buy a mug, tote bag, shirt and 3 hardbacks you’ll probably never even read. Plus they’ve made some pretty poor financial decisions. Had to scrap renovating and expanding into a nearby building. Lots of layoffs. If they didn’t own their building they’d be long gone.
For someone who grew up in the middle of nowhere Florida, being able to walk somewhere that had not just a book or 2 on any technical topic imaginable but 2 SHELVES full was amazing.
C'mon, that's too high a bar. I was there a few months ago (went twice in a week and spent some non-trivial time). While, Dussman has unparalleled selection of books (it's a 4-storied bookstore after all), they are also a gargantuan gift store (the 5th floor, and throughout the other floors). They have a dizzying array of expensive crap to lure consumers. I was there in November, and by Jove, was it teeming with shoppers.
That said, I still loved the incredible bookstore, and the co-located English store. Not to mention the huge vertical garden, with some 600 plant species. Definitely worth visiting, whether you're a bibliophile, or not.
Notably they don’t consider themselves a bookstore. Their claim is “kulturkaufhaus” which roughly translates to “culture shopping center.” They have a large section of DVDs, Music and other stuff. Their comic book section is pitifully small, though.
They also hollowed out the center of the store to create a Nook store-within-a-store, at least in most locations I know of.
A major independent store in Denver, Tattered Cover, dropped from being spread across 2 large floors down to 1 smaller floor, and I heard the once had 3 floors of the building they’re in. They seem to have focused on keeping the best books in stock though, subjectively speaking. But a decent part of that space is also coffee shop, periodicals, etc as well. I think they also lost any space for authors to come do readings.
The independent stores that you think are doing great are not what many fans of independent bookshops are thinking of by the words “independent bookstores”.
I fondly look back on certain 1990s independent bookshops that had enormous stock, and books were all they sold. But these days, many independent bookshops have trimmed their book inventories to a bare minimum of “new and select books” like you speak of. Small bookshops have felt the same pressures as the large chains, and in the place of actual books come things like vinyl records, Kikkerland products, and fancy teas. That might help them stay afloat financially, but for actual book lovers, it feels like the soul has been ripped out of the shop, like the proprietors are not bibliophiles themselves.