I realize “this is inevitable” and “change is the only constant” and blah blah blah. Still, human beings actually have the power to shape some of their future, which they ironically willingly give up with defeatist attitudes such as those. We could, actually, all willingly choose to not let any of this shit happen by patronizing bookstores, avoiding amazon, etc. But we don’t, and we probably won’t, and have no one to blame but ourselves (partially- the other part is the fucking Bloomberg politicians who sell this city out constantly.)
It is sad, but it also means that New York City will give up their long-held crown as the capital of culture to smaller, cheaper, cooler cities in the near future. And good for them, but it’s too bad for me. I moved here 12 years ago and would love to stay here, but I’m not really interested in living with a bunch of rich people around me while all my friends have taken off.
I don’t think books will ever die, but they will remain a small, marginalized niche, with occasional popular comebacks when hipsters realize what they’ve been missing by holding an actual, physical object in hand, similar to what’s happened with records.
