The Bookstore

I received a used copy of Wendell's, Home Economics in the mail this evening that I ordered from Amazon.  What an amazing book.  I'm excited to read it again and share it with you.  I'm a little embarrassed that I ordered it online.  Not a week after I ordered it I read a story about Indie bookstores and their terminal decline since the rise of Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Amazon.  Here's an excerpt from Jeremiah Chamberlin's take on the decline of the bookstore.

As a writer, bookstores have always felt like a home away from home. Whether in Michigan, Mississippi, or the left bank of Paris, the moment I walk through the doors of one of these shops I feel content. And welcome. And every time I’m in a new city, the first thing I do is browse the local independent bookstore. You find things in these places that you’d never discover anywhere else, because each store cultivates its own personality, ethos, and point of view.

So, as a lover of bookstores and a former bookseller myself, it’s been painful for me to watch these wonderful cultural institutions disappear. It’s estimated that in the last 15 years nearly 70% of independent bookstore have gone out of business. True, it’s not all bad news–the American Booksellers Association reported that 10 new shops opened between October and December of 2009. However, the sad truth is that this hardly makes up for the vast number of stores that have closed their doors. And with each lost store, we lose not only a place where people can browse for books, but also an important anchor of our literary communities.

We have both the big chains in our town and Amazon lurks behind every monitor I see.  I love them dearly.  I make no bones about it.  I love them because as far back as I remember, we had no other option.  They introduced a bookish freedom to this illiterate prairie stop that I'd not known before.  When I found the website http://www.fetchbook.info/ I cried a little.  More often than not our library doesn't carry books of any substantial literary value.  If you like Mary Higgins Clark and Robert Ludlum then your set.  I'll admit that I do actually like those authors.  A good story is a good thing.  But for the love of all that is holy!  Carry something with some meat too!  But you have to understand.  Our library is in a rundown building that used to be a parts warehouse.  For the last 15 years the city has tried to get money to make it worthy of a place that cares about its dignity but we've voted it down.  And this year is no exception.  We have a nice baseball park though.  I'm taking a deep breath and moving on before my colorful vocabulary makes the kids worried. 

That said, many years ago I gave up looking for any worthwhile source of literary excellence here in Billings.  I counted my blessings with the internet and B&N and left it at that.  But Wendell would have thought differently so I'm reevaluating.  I think I'll poke around and see if there's a local shop I can call home.  Fetchbook will be a hard habit to break but it would be worthwhile if I found a source of literature that also provided a source of community.  My skepticism is bubbling forth but I'm hopeful.  I'll let you know.