Life Experiences & Observations

I have a love hate relationship with the large box store book sellers. I guess I should say seller since there is really only one left. Barnes & Noble is the sole survivor. There was a time in my life some years ago, that I was hoping that the big box book seller would disappear. I was hoping for a David and Goliath type tale where the puny independent bookstore defeats the monster book Godzilla. But with Borders long gone, my daughter and me perusing the books at Barnes & Noble, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the last big book store.

I have been meaning to purchase a lengthy book I couldn’t finish after borrowing it from the library. I would have renewed it a 4th time but it was on hold for many of other readers. So with a B&N gift card in hand, I was excited to purchase it without having to dip into my shallow wallet. I already knew that it costs $15.95 on Amazon.com but I was happy to pay a little more knowing I had the gift card. To my dismay, the price was actually $12 more at 27.95. I wish I could say that I loathe Amazon.com the way I loathe Wall-mart, but I love their service and the beauty of Amazon Prime. It delivers me a cheap book or any other items in two days with no shipping cost to bear. In my sadness, I couldn’t help but feel some joy for the small book retailer. It sounds absurd but they are actually doing better than the last big box bookstore. Much of it because of their ability to pay you for your old books and give you gently used books in exchange.

In my quest for life simplification I have mostly moved away from buying new books. The library has become my mecca of knowledge. The one thing I didn’t like about the lack of book possession has now been replaced with the Goodreads’ app tracking mechanism. Yes, I am still somewhat vane about being able to see the list of my literary accomplishments. No longer on my shelves and instead in my little iPhone app. Another thing I like about the library is the pending due date pressure. It is helping me overcome my habit of starting a book and not finishing it until months later. Sure I can renew it but the holds on the better reads pressures me into reading them quickly before the hold reaper comes calling. So my book consumption chain has now been re-aligned. My distaste for big box booksellers has been replaced with a sadness due to their pending sickness and ultimate death. Their vibrant eBooks daughter and their cheery library son are the therapy for my ills of grief. I don’t like eBooks at this point in my life, but I am sure there will be a day where I will be sad about the end of the physical library since it will ultimately only exist in the digital universe.