The decline of bookstores is mostly because of Amazon. Bookstores didn’t suddenly go full stupid and kill themselves. This isn’t a happy and symbiotic relationship. Amazon offers a near infinite selection and a lazy and easy way to get what you want. Bookstores offer instant gratification and a physical location. They sell the same thing, so the experience you pick is going to take money from the other.
I actually don’t have a problem with this. “Big box” bookstores dying isn’t much of a loss in the grand scheme of things. Forcing bookstores to be more community oriented and interesting makes them better places. They will never have the volume they once head due to Amazon eating their lunch, but smaller and more interesting bookstores will live on. This is why the indie bookstores are recovering from the slaughter and the “big box” bookstores like Borders are lifeless husks of their former selves. If I just want a book, Amazon is clearly the easier way to do it. If I want to go browse through interesting shelves or see an author event, an indie bookstore is clearly the way to go.
Honestly, I am happy with Amazon’s effect on the world. Amazon is the big box store killer. If you just want “stuff” and don’t give a shit about where you get it from, you used to go to a big box store. Now, you just order it from Amazon. The stores that remain are places that offer something a bit more interesting, creative, and specialized. Amazon can’t murder Walmart fast enough as far as I am concerned.
