Ed: Now that I'm retired I read almost constantly. The Walden Book Store in our mall closed down but it didn't bother me at all. I hated that store. It was a crammed mess, they didn't carry a wide range of paperbacks or many of the hardcovers that I wanted. If that was still the only bookstore in town, I wouldn't be able to feed my habit of reading. I used the library and the used book store a lot. Now I use BAM and Amazon, Wal Mart or Sam's Club.

real ignorant comment there buddy,i love the internet,but as much as i love the internet i still love reading a good book and e-books just don't do it for me i want the real book in my hand.some technology is good but the kind of technology that turns people into lazy a@#@ is not.we should try to keep these bookstores in business.

Book stores are closing because more and more people are making their purchases on the internet. It's much easier and there are lots of bargains.

I don't think its that people aren't reading anymore. Its just we can read our news online, we can read e-books on kinder and get the books free instead of paying $8 to $10 for a paperback. Personally, I love holding a book in my hand. But you can by the kinder from Sprint and download books for free. Which in this Depression makes sense. But if you can read your news and fav magazines online for free, why subscribe to them??? Although people don't realize if you don't go to the bookstore they will close, if you no longer subscribe to magazines they will close or at the least people will lose jobs...Its 11.5% unemployment here, and in one county in California its 28% because most of them worked for the State. It is a sad thing this Depressiona nd is only getting worse. We bailed out WallStreet and the banks with our taxes, but there is no relief for Main Street like promised.

you could have fooled me by looking at my daughter whos 11. i have to buy her 2 books every week and shes done with them in like 2 or 3 days. and no they are not small bookes either. they are full novels like twilight and vampire diarys and she just got wuthering heights last nite. all by the way we did get at borders.

Yeah, but I would not like to buy my alcohol and tabacco second hand.

auctionjjk, That's because the Liquor and smoke has already affected both your brain and liver.

You are right Ray, book sellers make all the $$$. I am an author and make 35% of each book that is sold. Credit is due where credit is deserved! To the next 20 people who respond with their email (so I may have a delivery address) I am going to send my book absolutely free, free, free!! Authors unite - make it right!

Sorry, there is a chance to reply to my message on Pg. 4

Authors unite - make it right!

Barnes and Noble is not a local bookstore to any town it's a chain -- pure and simple it the chains that sucked the life out of the mom and pop local book stores.. What goes around comes around so the chains are getting what they did to the mom and pop from Amazon. Moral of this story is buy locally .. If you really care about your community.

I agree Frank because once you've read the book then what good is it?

A good book is always a good book and always worth reading again. A good reader will find something new everytime. And some libraries are crappy. I'm lucky my library isn't one of them and that they have most of the books I like to read. However they only update every so often and don't contain a lot of newer authors, or older ones gone out of print.

I still like to go to my bookstore because they have sale bins every so often and you can always find a bargain in there. Even some of the books on the bookshelf will be there for $4 and cost $16 if you didn't look in the bin. Plus it's a quiet place, good cocoa and the staff are all awesome. Though I'm a huge online shopper too. Depends on my mood if I want to pay full price or not.

Libraries are great but also being closed down faster than bookstores. Pretty soon the only place to buy books will be online or at the grocery/walmart stores. I am an avid..okay crazy avid reader. And Amazon can be pricier than I can afford at times. Libraries never had the books I wanted to read unless I donated what I had. And waiting for them to open so I could get my daily fix just wasnt useful. With the chain books stores closing and the wonderful mom and pop stores gone I am really worried about how people who would rather read a book than blurbs online are gonna life. Everyone I work with knows me as the book lady and borrows from me. Guess I will have to open my own library!

I totally agree. I quit after working for borders/waldenbooks for 6 years (I started as a bookseller and worked my way up)...the managment style and business model wasn't going in a direction with which I agreed. I quit and joined team gamestop, I even took a paycut... stupid borders.