Or why I still buy books from Amazon
When I was a kid, our weekly post-soccer game ritual was to go to the local bookstore and pick out a book for $5. We were always so excited.
I once waited a week so I could buy a book that cost $10 (all about the science of magic, if I recall). Books have that ability to pull out a rare instance of delayed gratification.
Earlier this week, I came across a user on Threads who shared a similar experience that inspired their new goal of browsing a local bookstore with their kids instead of buying online from digital jungles.
I love local bookstores, but I still buy (almost) all my books from a popular online retailer.1
I’ve anguished over this in recent years, as more and more people share their strong opinions and resolutions to not buy from said retailer. I even bought a small zine from our local bookstore and coffee shop all about why it’s important to support local shops instead of online behemoths. The arguments were unconvincing.2
Local bookstores are great for browsing. But it’s become a law of nature that if there’s a specific book I want/need, they won’t have it—not even the gentle giant B&N. Even though they can order anything, it will take days to weeks to receive it.
But, I can have it delivered tomorrow or downloaded in seconds from the Big Bad Bookstore. And it’ll cost me less.
I can’t say I’m proud of it, but that’s why I keep buying books online.
I still love to visit my local bookstores, though. 😬
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This is mostly because I purchase and read 90% of my titles as ebooks. Despite some effort, I have yet to find an independent reseller with a good ebook experience, particularly one that fits my reading workflow. Oh, yeah, and because we’re running out of physical space in the house to store books. ↩︎
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Discussing these arguments merits a post in itself. But, in brief, they don’t take into account the practicalities of shopping online. ↩︎