Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Independent/Chain Bookstore Knifefight Continues Unabated

But Jenna Crispin injects some much-needed sanity into the debate.

I'm an unashamed habitue of my local Borders and Barnes & Noble. I get a lot of books online at various retailers. I don't have any independent bookstores that I visit, though. The one I did go to closed years ago and, frankly, it wasn't that great, but it was close. I'm not ashamed of my book-buying habits and I don't think anyone should try to make me feel so. If you have a great independent bookstore near you that you just love, support it with all your might. But someone who goes to a chain is not evil or stupid. Some of them are just the best option in the area. So just cool it with the hipster-ironic-commie-pinko condescension, bub!

In the end, as Crispin points out, "Insisting that book-buyers’ retailer decision must, or should, be one-or-the-other is hardly realistic. Of course, it does keep the debate alive—infinitely and uselessly."

(Via Bookslut)

1 comment:

Maxine Clarke said...

I agree. I like my local Waterstone's and Borders.
I do visit independent bookstores if I happen to be somewhere where there is one and it is open, but that is sadly rare. In the meantime, nothing wrong with the chains (or Amazon!).