Chatting to the guy that runs a pretty large online 2nd hand bookshop in my region, I was surprised to hear that maybe 12 bookshops had closed in the area in recent times and that he thought his was about the last one left.

Have you noticed a similar trend where you live?

Are people not reading anymore?

they've just about all closed down  ... but the shopping centre nearest me just opened a new bookshop, in the same location where another went bust a little over a year ago. To cover the rent they need to charge $30- $40 a book, online I get most of my books for under $10.

Bookshops are history .. although a few niche ones may survive

It's such a shame.  Most people are now reading books on their iphones or tablets.  Most Angus & Robertson stores closed down a few years ago and they trade online now.

Many have closed in the areas around where I live but there are still a token few left.  I guess they will disappear soon too.

I am constantly reading and I prefer my books to be made of paper and be able to hold them.  I get enough eye strain using the computer for other things without having to read a book via a screen.   In a few years we will end up with a generation of people with very bad eye sight.

Yep.

All closed down.

We just have a Dymocks in the CBD now.

:(

We still have a Dymocks in the CBD and a few remaining local stores.

Borders stores closed down some years ago too  :(

There are bookstores here. Some of them are old school, some have new books at heavily discounted prices. There's a lovely secondhand bookshop not too far from me.

I love secondhand bookshops, especially poorly lit ones with towering piles of dusty books all jumbled up in loose categories. Heaven.

My favourite painting is The Bookworm by Spitzweg. The reason why I love it so much because I identify with the subject. Note how he is reading with a book between his knees and under his elbow etc, oblivious to everything in the world. It will always be paper books for me. If you haven't seen the painting, I recommend looking at the Wikipedia file pic. It's enormous and the detail is excellent.

http://rlv.zcache.com/carl_spitzweg_the_bookworm_1850_poster-r14884e68ac34416e90e7c58a2ad0b00c_wvg_8byvr_512.jpg

Where ever I have gone in the English speaking world I have sought out second-hand bookshops. By that I don't mean the pulp exchanges. A website that links many of them is AbeBooks.com      
It is a wonderful resource if you have something particular in mind.
I am not allowed post links.

I wanted to buy my husband a book that one of his ancestors had written and the only place I could find a copy was Abe's. They're excellent for rare and valuable books.

http://www.abebooks.com

I have been buying my 2nd hand books for so long through Leura Books at Mittagong NSW, that I hadn't noticed the disappearance of so many small dealers.

But I was surprised to learn that one of my old haunts - Berkelouw at Berrima NSW, known as the Book Barn - had gone all upmarket. Apparently they now only sell expensive copies and antiquarian books. I used to enjoy delving among their shelves of 19th century historical works. All gone now, given away or landfill.

Are bookshops disappearing in your area?

Too many books on magic will do that.

bogarde73 wrote on Dec 17^th, 2014 at 2:00pm:

Chatting to the guy that runs a pretty large online 2nd hand bookshop in my region, I was surprised to hear that maybe 12 bookshops had closed in the area in recent times and that he thought his was about the last one left. Have you noticed a similar trend where you live? Are people not reading anymore?

the second hand book business is disappearing I think.. one I used has not long gone...small business we cant expect much else really......I read a lot but to get my grandkids to pick up a book....is like asking them to make their beds.....wont happen...

I think along with books going so will writing essays and little stories or even poems..

the inclination isnt there the seeds are not being planted anymore....

even newspapers are having trouble selling.....

if it isnt on a screen of some sorts the new generations dont want to know......me I hate reading anything much on the computer....I read magazines from the back to the front....always was bloody different... ;) ;)

Its not just book shops.
Petrol Stations, retail nurseries ,corner shops, brothels,,, yes brothels .
Well technically they are not retailers tho :)

In the past I often thought about starting a small bookstore one day.  I could relate to Meg Ryan's character in whatever that movie was?  You've Got Mail?

No point now.   I will just make my own library with floor to ceiling shelves and a moving ladder.

It is regrettable, but it is not just the internet and ebooks that are causing the demise of book shops. Running a book shop was always a matter of slim margins. In the heyday of bookshops, people wanted less, had lower expectations, were lucky to drive one car, did not insure half a dozen aspects of their lives, and did not give their children telephone accounts or expect to send them all to university. The bookshop owners I have known either subsidised their interest or were poor as church mice.

A bit off topic but, oh well.  Along with the disappearing book stores there is another corner store that is almost extinct.

The deli.  I used to love a good deli and there are none left where I live.  Not a one.  There used to be a great deli in the Spanish Quarter in the city and that disappeared recently to accommodate the expanding Chinatown.

Supermarket delis are NOT the same.

bogarde73 wrote on Dec 17^th, 2014 at 2:00pm:

Chatting to the guy that runs a pretty large online 2nd hand bookshop in my region, I was surprised to hear that maybe 12 bookshops had closed in the area in recent times and that he thought his was about the last one left. Have you noticed a similar trend where you live? Are people not reading anymore?

Dumping x7 Boxes of em at the tip today.

Jasin wrote on Dec 7^th, 2022 at 8:44am:

bogarde73 wrote on Dec 17th, 2014 at 2:00pm: Chatting to the guy that runs a pretty large online 2nd hand bookshop in my region, I was surprised to hear that maybe 12 bookshops had closed in the area in recent times and that he thought his was about the last one left. Have you noticed a similar trend where you live? Are people not reading anymore? Dumping x7 Boxes of em at the tip today.

Why would you do that? A charity would be happy to have them.

Belgarion wrote on Dec 7^th, 2022 at 12:07pm:

Jasin wrote on Dec 7th, 2022 at 8:44am: bogarde73 wrote on Dec 17th, 2014 at 2:00pm: Chatting to the guy that runs a pretty large online 2nd hand bookshop in my region, I was surprised to hear that maybe 12 bookshops had closed in the area in recent times and that he thought his was about the last one left. Have you noticed a similar trend where you live? Are people not reading anymore? Dumping x7 Boxes of em at the tip today. Why would you do that? A charity would be happy to have them.

When my late Aunty passed away she had about 1,000 books.
Most of them were academic books from university.
Some of them cost over $100.
The university library had no room for them -
no shop wanted them -
they all went to the tip.

Belgarion wrote on Dec 7^th, 2022 at 12:07pm:

Jasin wrote on Dec 7th, 2022 at 8:44am: bogarde73 wrote on Dec 17th, 2014 at 2:00pm: Chatting to the guy that runs a pretty large online 2nd hand bookshop in my region, I was surprised to hear that maybe 12 bookshops had closed in the area in recent times and that he thought his was about the last one left. Have you noticed a similar trend where you live? Are people not reading anymore? Dumping x7 Boxes of em at the tip today. Why would you do that? A charity would be happy to have them.

It's a throw-away society under the Democrats, is it not?

Burn your Ray Bradbury books!

Comes the day…. When internet is defunct through whatever may happen… we will have no written material for reference…just like in the original movie The Time Machine… where the traveller asks for books… gets shown the old library only to find the books turn to dust from non use and storage for thousands of years.

Written in Stone seems to last the longest.

Sophia wrote on Dec 8^th, 2022 at 4:38pm:

Comes the day…. When internet is defunct through whatever may happen… we will have no written material for reference…just like in the original movie The Time Machine… where the traveller asks for books… gets shown the old library only to find the books turn to dust from non use and storage for thousands of years.

   

Yes, entirely possible.                                                                                                            

Sophia wrote on Dec 8^th, 2022 at 4:38pm:

Comes the day…. When internet is defunct through whatever may happen… we will have no written material for reference…just like in the original movie The Time Machine… where the traveller asks for books… gets shown the old library only to find the books turn to dust from non use and storage for thousands of years.

My favourite scene from one of my all-time favourite movies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_ZfZaRCWTI

Does not really matter that bookshops are disappearing. We have a lifeline bookfest today and tomorrow at the showgrounds. Bargain books and DVDs on sale.

Forget bookstores or discount bookfests. I went to the university today and I had collected about 50 books (history, health, geography and computing) for free. I have no shortage of books to read for the next 5 years.

I found this library still surviving!

The largest surviving chained library in the world is at Hereford Cathedral in the UK, where all the books are still kept under lock and key in their original chains. It has been rebuilt in its original arrangement, exactly as it had been from 1611 to 1841.

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Before printing books were rare—and expensive!

I have books just waiting to be read (and some to be finished being read). But, if the library wanted to give away books, I was quite happy to take them off their hands. Pity the programming books have CDROMs that can no longer be installed on Windows 10 computer operating systems.

There is a new bookshop in my town, opened about 6 months ago. I make sure I go there and buy something when I can afford it. Business seems to be OK whenever I'm there so hoping it does not suffer the fate of the last and at the time only bookshop that shut down about 8 years ago.

Now this is unique! But I’ve always loved listening to other peoples life experiences etc and still do.
Sadly with much of our youth spending so much time on internet, real life association and listening skills are not a priority. Some things/skills are just not learnt via internet as in real life.

In Denmark, there are libraries where you can borrow a person instead of a book, to listen to their life story for 30 minutes. The aim is to help people overcome prejudice. Each participant has a label that they identify with - "unemployed", "refugee", "bipolar", etc. - by listening to the other person's story, the participants are able to realize how much you shouldn't "judge a book by its cover". This innovative project is active in more than 50 countries and is called "The Human Library".
Credit: Varun Sinha

Read more: https://diaryamazing.com

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Did I mention that the CQU library gave me 50 books from their catalogue for free?

Nice!

Here’s a book place that’s going going… almost gone…

https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/collapsed-retailer-booktopia-terminates-165-staff-only-18-workers-left/news-story/f98c810d5c4dfe38bcc763657d6cc155