Was so glad to discover your Medium article about Barnes & Noble. I’m with you. Thought you and your readers might appreciate something I wrote a while back for LinkedIn:
37 Reasons to Shop at Barnes & Noble Bookstores
Are you fortunate enough to be within a short driving distance of a Barnes & Noble bookstore? If so, allow me to suggest the following: Go! (Don’t get me wrong, I love Amazon, and buy lots of books from them.) But, Barnes & Noble deserves our business. Here are thirty-seven reasons to go to your nearest B&N and buy some books for yourself and your loved ones.
- Barnes & Noble is filled with individuals who read, and love books.
2. Has a great ambiance for browsing.
3. You can see the whole array of books as you walk around, not just a single book at a time.
4. It’s a great place to hang out.
5. Gives you time to reflect on a book, on fellow readers, on life in general.
6. Great people watching place.
7. Barnes & Noble has published a wide and wonderful array of Classics.
8. There is a Starbucks in the store where you can read, drink coffee, and eat.
9. In four stores (so far, with more to come), Barnes & Noble offers craft beer, wine, and dining, in their “Barnes & Noble Kitchen.” Currently locations are in Eastchester, NY; Edina, MN; Folsom, CA; and Loudon, VA. They plan to open more. (I hope they hurry up.)
10. Barnes & Noble is a neighborhood and community resource.
11. Employees and customers are book people, who love to read.
12. You can delve into areas of interest, and learn stuff.
13. Barnes & Noble bookstores are infinitely perusable. (And, yes, this applies to independent bookstores as well, which will be a topic for another post.)
14. You can scout for gift ideas for those who love to read.
15. B&N is an important anchor store for malls, which are struggling right now.
16. It’s a fun place to wander around.
17. It’s family friendly, with wonderful kids and young adult sections.
18. If you love the feel and smell of new books, Barnes & Noble is your place.
19. Barnes & Noble has an unparalleled array of magazines and periodicals (and no one will tell you that you must buy it before you read it).
20. Physical Barnes & Noble stores take you away from the omnipresent computer screen.
21. If you’re a writer, perusing the isles of your chosen genre can help you target your next book.
22. You can also observe the way in which customers peruse and choose.
23. Discover new titles and topics.
24. Delve into your favorite topic, and take a deep dive into its most successful books.
25. It’s a place to think.
26. It gives Amazon much needed competition. (It’s one of the reasons that Amazon decided to open its own bookstores.)
27. It’s a place to work and write.
28. The full array of knowledge of Western and Eastern Civilization is on display.
29. You go because you love books.
30. It’s fun.
31. Literary culture is on display.
32. In one area, Barnes & Noble beats Amazon on price — their Bargain Books, which offer an incredible array of fiction and non-fiction on every conceivable subject, at amazingly low prices.
33. Barnes & Noble has organized many special collections, such as local schools’ reading lists, local authors, and staff favorites.
34. It’s a good place to get ideas, especially if you’re a writer.
35. You can socialize with other readers.
36. Authors show up for discussions of their books, and book signings.
37. Finally, for our own self-interest, let’s help Barnes & Noble to not suffer the same fate as the once great Borders Books.
Feel free to offer your own ideas and suggestions as to why we should patronize Barnes & Noble Bookstores.
Meanwhile, you may wonder why I haven’t championed small, independent bookstores. They are most worthy of our patronage and support. Yet, my selfish purpose of this post is to help keep Barnes & Noble in business!
As I mentioned in #37 above, I don’t want B&N to suffer the same fate as Borders. Yes, Barnes & Noble is a business that must compete. It is also a community treasure that we don’t want to see disappear.
So, what can you do? Go to Barnes & Noble today. Buy a book. Better still, buy two… or three. Check out their Bargain Books. Have fun!
Meanwhile, here’s the latest news from Publisher’s Weekly… https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/81248-b-n-s-james-daunt-isn-t-daunted-at-all.html
