In Need of CPR: The Bookstore

The other night we went on a date. Our first in what seemed like months. Correction: It had been months.

After our yummy dinner we felt the next logical part of the date would best be spent at a bookstore. Actually, Stefan wanted to go the bookstore and I read his mind saying, "were you thinking of going to the bookstore?"

"Yes," he admits. Another idea that wasn't really my own, just someone else's thought migrating casually to my brain. Anyways, I agreed, because I know someday there won't be a bookstore to go to.

Bookstores are going the way of music stores. I'm sure there are some music stores around, where I don't know? Maybe they are in bigger cities, than where I live. Music stores are a dying breed because many people now download music for money and for free.

And for the people, ones like me, who still like to buy CDs (those are dying too) there is Target, Walmart and Amazon, artists' websites, and for the moment bookstores. Although, I just read yesterday, with CD sales dropping and download sales climbing, less store space can be expected for the selling of CDs.

"Boohoowah!"

In our small community, I can think of at least three bookstores that have closed, without thinking very hard.

Maybe this whole free thing is going to catch on and become legal. Then we won't need money anymore. Everyone will just have what they need and want. The want is the tricky part there, I suppose. Or maybe most stores will just operate virtually online in the future.

So why are bookstores dying? Well, maybe Amazon.com has something to do with it? Then there's Costco's discount book selling strategy. And I believe another nail in the coffin will be electronic books, Kindle and Sony book readers, and Phones with book reading applications.

I'm not sure about Kindle, though. The other day Kindle was bragging about the New York Times being available, now! But I can read that on my phone for FREE. I suspect the phones will really get people reading electronically. Works for me, why not the rest of the world.

But there is another reason, one I recently discovered in the New York Times, my favorite book, at the moment. According to the New York Times many people are buying and selling used books online.

Recycling!

I used to do that in college. Whenever possible I always chose the used text book option when buying school books because they were usually $20 cheaper. I never sold them back to the bookstore, though.

I like to hang on to my books. In case, I need to refer back to them. Which is exactly the reason I hate buying books, because they take up so much space, in the first place. And they are very hard to let go.

When Stefan says "Let's get rid of some books today," he might as well be saying, "honey let's get rid of part of you because you are taking up way too much space, and we don't really need that much of you around here, do we?"

Yeah, I take it a little too personally. And that is why I like the library. The books come to our house to visit, and then go back home to the library. Besides, if we don't use libraries then they are going to die, too.

Although, by the looks of the library users at our shiny brand spanking new library, most users would never notice the absence of books if a fairy magically transformed the library into, say, an Internet Cafe.

Are those folks looking for jobs, playing solitaire, or updating their facebook status? The sheer numbers alone suggest all of the above.

The New York Times article listed a website http://www.vialibri.net/, a book search engine where millions of books from 1000s of sellers can be found and purchased.

Curious, I went to the site and looked up my newest book, "For The Love," by Kelly Slater. The first copy I found was listed for $125.00, without knowing the price, it's obvious that is not a good deal. But I scrolled down and found the book for as low as $20, it's condition was only listed as "used," which was no help at all.

I looked up other books I can't get from my library without some hassle, and found some in "like new" condition at half the list price with shipping around a few dollars. And if I was willing to settle for an older edition the book could be had for two or three bucks! Wow!

Very interesting, even for me, someone who doesn't buy books, very often.

"Attention Borders customers, the time is 8:41. We will be closing in 19 minutes," says a voice over the intercom. Bad timing, as I was sitting down in a chair with no less than the six books I was planning to read on my date. Yes, sometimes my visions are ridiculous.

Not very datish behavior either. We should have been searching for a private place to make out in the back of the bookstore, instead of wasting time searching for books I wasn't going to buy.

"Do you want any of those books?" asks Stefan.

In my head I'm thinking, "Yes I want them all. But I don't really want to spend $150 on books, tonight. And where are we going to put them? And what if I don't even read them all?"

Alas, I believe I found an answer: the ingenius book search engine mentioned above.

"Viva viaLibri!"

Simultaneously in the background a creepy voice whispers, "die bookstore, die," but no one hears it...............