If you have been enjoying your coffee or latte seated by that clean window to your right with millions of books to your left and you reside in Hampton, Virginia, then you already know that your coffee and book fix is completely over with the closing of Books of Million in that location.
With the growth of ebook sales(Publishers Weekly claims 4 million Kindles were sold in December 2011 alone) and with Barnes & Noble Nook gaining so much popularity, they're thinking of opening a Nook stand alone store and many wonder: Why have a bookstore when I can download in seconds?
Now that the smell of coffee beans, books, and latte may slowly come to a rolling halt, where does the ebook era leave us? With the upswing in ebook sales in almost any quarter and reported anywhere on the web, what does this truly mean for some bookstores still opened?
Ebook sales equals more opportunity for brick and mortar stores. Just like with the surge and changes in technology, many found themselves without jobs while others "made do" with technology and learned to either work with it or learn how to improve it(kind of like Steve Jobs and computers). One Indie bookstore, BookPeople- have decided to "create an e-book concierge" that is offered through Google eBooks and the staff at BookPeople in Austin, TX are ready to help people find, purchase, and download their ebooks- see story at BookPeople.
If you do not own an e-reader device, don't fret. You can easily download free apps to your PC like Kindle, Nook, and even Christianbook.com has an e-reader app you can download and use instantly. So far ebook sales have not completely eliminate brick and mortar stores as Norfolk, Va plenty of bookstores you can visit like Prince Books on 109 East Main Street or Barnes and Noble on 300 Monticello Avenue and many others.
Erica J. Smith is the author of The Prayer Monologues and is a contributing writer for The Norfolk Christian Fiction Examiner. She offers free writing tips, reviews and resources on The Write Web. Contact her at: rain200@msn.com
Comments