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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Books, books, and more books.

I had sworn to myself that I would never, ever, even if it was the last job ever, to work in another book store.
I am now entering my second week working at Crown Books in Rancho Cucamonga.
Ridiculous? Yes. More than likely short-term? Absolutely.
There is no more money for books in print. I am essentially working in a museum which allows the masses to browse the last futile attempts of keeping print alive. I wish it weren't so. I love the feel of a book in my hands, the smell of the pages when flipping through an old book you had previously adventured. But sadly, there aren't that many people like myself. Especially younger folks who enjoy reading classics, contemporary, and the occasional graphic novel. I, however, really love graphic novels, but they are not killing regular books in print. That was done by the big box retailers who were unable to shift their business strategies to account for the future of reading - the e-book revolution.

I'm not saying that there wasn't any done to keep the bookstores from going under. On the contrary - millions of dollars were invested and returned for some (Barnes & Noble) and wasted away by others (Borders Books). The difference was timing. Barnes and Noble was able to keep both its store customers and maintain a healthy online presence. Whomever worked at B&N and decided to make the Nook knew exactly what to do. Those at Borders, not so much.
As someone who has worked for Borders in the latter part of its run, I was able to witness the last painful grasps at keeping the company alive. The integration of a crappy e-reader (the Kobo by Kobo digital) was introduced far too late into the game.
Just like SOPA, you have a bunch of people disconnected from digital platforms trying to resolve problems with said issue while lacking the technical know how.
This rant brought to you by:

Flavor Junction

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