/lit/ - Literature

We've gone from wanting to preserve smaller independently owned businesses to wanting to preserve smaller franchises.

>>13859040
Barnes & Noble tends to be overpriced, but they constantly give out coupons that offset their prices. I subscribed to their e-newsletter last year and since then I've gotten a coupon every two or three weeks. The only downside is they also send junkmail about the latest book releases.

It's all over. Brick & mortar shops that depend of foot traffic where the first to go: the eternal Anglo came up with these huge megastores inside malls or with large areas for parking outside and killed the mom & pop down the street. Then the same Anglo just had the brilliant idea of putting everything inside a huge warehouse and just dispense to people when they order it. I hate the contemporary world.

>>13859084
amen

>>13859040
>I'd love to go to a local family owned bookstore but they're nowhere in sight.

Now that you wrote it out, I realized this is probably why I tend to shop in second-hand bookstores. They tend to be comfy and run by an actual person rather than shop assistants #354 through #360. Not to mention the catalogue is eclectic and therefore interesting just to view.

I used to patronize a bookstore chain though. It was however a small chain with apparently quite a bit of freedom for the individual stores and had started out as an university bookstore. This showed in its non-fiction catalogue and you could actually chance upon some good and obscure stuff there. The people there curated the fiction, and while I found myself questioning their taste often, at least they had a taste of some kind. However, all this ended when a Swedish company bought the chain. Whereas the store had previously had a slightly run-down, but comfy look with its sub-optimally placed wooden shelves, now everything was cluttered with those cold white plastic shelves used in so many stores that I had weird sense of deja vu entering the renovated store for the first time. The catalogue also changed completely. No more actual academic publications sold at loss, but pop-science books. No more Swedes or Italians or French, but Americans straight out of New York Times bestseller list. (Needless to say, I'm not American, unlike, apparently, the Swedes.)

>>13859137
This happens because the Anglo has money to burn on marketing and local bookstores can count on the fact their middle class clientele a) speaks English: b) has been exposed to the Anglo. The US is the biggest source of literary desertification in the world.

I still miss borders.

>>13859040
>The only purpose of coming here would be to sit in one of the chairs and read for free.
That's mostly what I do, plus shoplifting occasionally. Thing is, their selection is so poor that it's sometimes hard to even find anything worth stealing!

>>13859243
why? borders had a slightly better selection than b&n but it was also more expensive. the only thing borders had that b&n didn't was music, and their music was even more ridiculously priced than their books.

>>13859137
>I tend to shop in second-hand bookstores
Which only enriches the bookstore and does nothing for the author. It's basically paid piracy,

>>13859040
I only go here to get lit mags that have indexes in the back for poetry submissions in the US.

>>13859040
I seriously don't understand how they're still in business

>>13859243
You've still got Books-A-Million and various other chains.

It's not like Barnes and Noble is the only chain bookstore. I can think of at least five. There are two competing bookstores in any stripmall, especially in urban cities such as Baltimore or Detroit :3

Chapters Indigo in Canada is scum. It’s a book-themed gift shop. They call themselves “cultural department store”. 1 in 50 employees knows how to read.

At least you still have some bookstores, even if they're big chains. Even big chain bookstores in my country are closing up but there aren't any online places to buy books either. Pretty sure they only survive because of school books.

>>13859517
Brazil?

>>13859434
All authors worth reading are dead.

>>13859666
What a pathetic and narrow minded opinion

>>13859695
/lit/ never fails to say shit like that guy. They want literature to die and become some ultra-niche thing like contemporary classical music or academic painting. It's sad.

>>13859703
Look I just don't want normies getting into my secret club.

>>13859243
Same, although they were twice as bad as Barnes & Noble; all of their shit was ridiculously overpriced.

>>13859712
VROOOOM VROOM
BIKE BIKE *Austic COG ON*
>MY CWUHBBB
>MY BUUK
>MINE MINE MINE
>People who I do t deem as cool can’t like the stuff I like

>>13859040
>single book that wasn't at least 5 dollars more expensive than on amazon
If you're buying new Barnes and Noble tends to be pretty equivalent to Amazon, and as someone else mentioned they do have coupons (something a lot of book sellers on Amazon don't offer). B&N leather bound books are nice and you can get some classics for fair prices, especially around the holidays when they have sales.

Where are you guys that there are no locally owned bookstores? Sometimes thrift stores (even Goodwill) will have surprisingly good book selections, you can always try that.

I hate that most of their classics are their own shitty cheap acidy paper that will turn yellow in a year

>>13859040
>the one advantage over amazon would be you at least know the real condition of the book before you receive it.
That's a lie. Their packaging is absolute shit with no padding to protect the book. A lot of times, you'll receive paperbacks that a partially bent. I have also received paperbacks with the plastic peeling from the cover on a few occasions.

>>13859434
Except it's like downloading a physical book.

I like going because I like buying the book in my hand and it feels more special than mail.

I like them because they are incredibly easy to steal books from

>>13859695
>>13859703
I was joking but I usually go to used book stores for classics.

>>13860032
That's why he said it was an advantage *over* Amazon.

Here's a tip: B&N online prices are usually near competitive with amazon and if you show the BNcom price they'll honor it.

>>13860258
Rarely anything worth stealing though

>>13859471

Some of us will just absolutely never ever do business with Jeff Bezos, no matter what.

>>13859040
look at that disgusting generic store fuck man all plazas and shit look the same fucking burgerpunk depressing ass techno-civilization shit FUCK

My Barnes and Noble price matches with Amazon but it's an exception because it's a low-volume store

>>13859040
Go to the bargin bin. I got the Stalin biography for like $3

>>13859434
Yeah, all those authors I've been reading who've been dead for 50-200 years are really missing the money from my buying used copies of their books.

>>13859040
If you got a membership card is kinda the same price

>>13862174

>this auto-limited reading by historical period

Your post's intent would have been greatly strengthened if you'd simply said "dead", anon. Lesson in writing better: don't water down your central point and give potential enemies some potential, tangential rhetorical toehold to latch onto. Keep it simple where appropriate. This would have been one of those times but ya goofed.

>>13859067
Hmm

>>13859434
Tacitus thanks you for buying his penguin classic from Amazon..

>>13859666
this, but unironically

>>13861605
Based, how is that man not Jewish

>>13862316
Who would take writing lessons from someone who typed out 'Lesson in writing better', how does that not jar reading it back

>>13860100
/thread
literally spotify for books

>>13862316
I write my own work and edit the written work of other people for my employment. I didn't simply mention "dead" writers because in many cases recently deceased writers have the monetary rewards of their work allocated to their relatives, and so others could claim that I'm stealing income from their relatives through my purchasing of used books even after their death. Thanks for your lesson in "writing better." I would correct the multiple errors in your own post, but I'm not getting paid to do so.

>The future is now, old man.

I do miss reading alongside others. It's a nonsense sentiment, but for some reason I miss it.

>>13862496
non-university libraries have nothing worth reading

>>13861541
wow thanks for the tip I'll try this

>>13859356
>their selection is so poor that it's sometimes hard to even find anything worth stealing!
incredibly based

Must be sad living in an Anglo country. My city (which isn't even that large) has 10ish independent bookstores, and maybe half as many secondhand bookstores. Just move to Europe.

>>13859434
>Which only enriches the bookstore and does nothing for the author. It's basically paid piracy,
How did you manage to type all that while sucking so much cock?

As someone who lives in a cultureless shittown in the Bible Belt I am so glad online stores exist. Without them and e-piracy I'd be lost. Ordinary bookstores are fun when you don't have to rely on them to get access to a book and can just browse for novelty. The local library is full of trash too and isn't an option.

>>13859040
Reminder that B&N killed off smaller bookchains by also undercutting competition. They deserve every second of their slow death.

If it's not a specialized or used book store it's not worth a damn. Those are usually the only bookstores that are making any money these days because in the case of specialized stores, they can more efficiently know what their customers want and used stores can get everything cheaper.

I miss those 4 dollars books from Amazon though.

>>13864631
it's a doggy dog world

>>13865339
The phrase is 'dog eat dog' world you fucking idiot :3

>>13865345
I think you're the fucking idiot here.

>>13865345
>he doesn't know

>>13865356
>>13865404

ITT: people who were TRIPLE-bamboozled

>>13865356
>>13865404
You guys are fucking retarded. Here I looked it up.

https://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091128025612AA3IFse&guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20vc2VhcmNoP3E9aXRzK2ErZG9nK2VhdCtkb2crd29ybGQmZm9ybT1FREdUQ1QmcXM9UEYmY3ZpZD1lNzM4ODMzNmFiZTU0N2U0YTk4MGFkOTkwZWIyODIxNiZyZWZpZz1lMGZlMWIxODlkZWU0YTA3ZmJiZGIzOTgxYTM0N2M3NiZjYz1VUyZzZXRsYW5nPWVuLVVTJmVsdj1BWEsxYzRJdlpvTnFQb1BuUyUyMVFSTE9OaCUyMWZxRTlMQkVyaTRJNDU1MFZrWEc2RVYlMjFrOXR4MDU2Mm10clMqVlFLRjdoeHBSQ1pYSWVONTkzMElmSEphcWRtRllVb2pyQnFmcjNSaWVtUVlPSWcmcGx2YXI9MA&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIWyw0T_MG4dHNoZwc2Lc_tvYiPZwdq_16AB8x9UBLs-N14jDTDrV916KG9w858mZlnyGkIVjfiFHKS5B1V8wynZWK4WYm0TgjMa6Xj2ZMfF7LLEzY9vcUMZrhbgOhflPyFk6xJFSAjaAfcddgVFNDftOx_ncLSgO1M3eYCKYdTB

Just remember, that you aren't always the smartest just because you're on the internet. Good advice is a diamond dozen. I'll give you the other eleven later ;)