One thing I appreciate about second-hand bookshops and libraries is that they are not curated for me.
I read a lot of non-fiction, and I find that websites like Amazon and Goodreads do give decent suggestions, but they are books about topics I already know, sharing ideas I am already familiar with, in a style I like. I can feel the customer profit gradient descent maximization breathing down my neck. Looking at you, books with sans-serif titles, white backgrounds, and clever illustrations!
Algorithmic websites prioritize the new and the popular, whereas bookshops and libraries still feature the old and obscure (I realize that libraries have 30 copies of Harry Potter, but you get my point).
So, in my opinion, while these vicious market forces are currently destroying bookshops, I think it'll get to a steady state where bookshops serve a smaller, more loyal and niche audience.
When I was traveling, I'd love me some second-hand bookstores. They were perfect for a few hours to kill. Each one was like a tattoo on a town, unique yet familiar.
Large cities, small hamlets, the used bookstore in each were all the same stacks of yellowing books haphazarded. The smell, oh the smell, exactly the same musky deep scent. The pacing feet or strolling dogs outside the door drop away, leaving an alike meander and comforting scootch past stacks.
But the books, the little things in the windows, the person behind the counter, the dog or cat, the hippie and the retiree, the fliers and aged comic strips, each of those things was utterly unique to the place. Those little bit of character just sing out the place they are in. The stacks of surf boards on Bondi Beach, the brownies in Newhaven, the beer glasses in Denver, it's those little things that made those used bookstores an absolute joy to wander into for an hour and slow down.
The last few holidays I've had I make a point to look up whether the towns we're staying in have any second hand bookshops, and to damn well visit them - with the ever present chance of slight frustration due to some odd opening hours that seem unique to second hand bookstores in such a way as to appear to be saying "you must earn your visit by rescheduling your holiday around me".
It's possible to be correct in three guesses what the owner will look like just by knowing the opening hours.
Unfortunately, I've found that even the remaining second-hand stores have lost a bit of this "uniqueness" from location to location. Now they all push the same anarchist, grunge aesthetic. I dont mind it, but its not novel to me anymore, and it'd be nice to experience something else.
This is one of the reason I like used bookstores and thriftshops. I like having a good surprise from time to time and find something totally unexpected. Buying used is also good for the environment
I absolutely agree with this. It's one reason why I love to browse libraries and bookshops, even big-box ones. I browse multiple sections and can just about always find something new that seems interesting that I wouldn't have found earlier. It's also part of what I miss about having access to a quality university library. The amount of high quality non-fiction, across a wide range of subjects, was just astounding and I used to spend hours there just browsing and skimming through books.
I agree, but I can also see a future of smaller web-based bookshops with specialised algorithms based on more uncommon, specialized parameters. Think "books about philosophy that used to be popular in the '70s".
If we're not seeing that in the present, I don't anticipate seeing it in the future. I see a future of monopolistic rentseekers continuing to make the least possible effort.
We've not yet reached a level of digital literacy necessary for that sort of niche to survive. Ecommerce has reduced profit margins for brick & mortar to levels that are almost unsustainable (hence the well-reported closures), but b&m chains still exist and push a lot of volume, and a lot of people don't trust their internet skills enough to try non-brand shops.
Timing is important. Remember the "New Economy" boom? A lot of those businesses didn't survive just because there weren't enough customers online. I say we're now in a position where there are enough customers to keep large businesses afloat, but not enough to sustain niches big enough to leave them some surplus to invest in algo optimization. I think this will change sometime in the next 30 years. By the time everyone under 65 will have grown up with the internet as a given, I think we'll see the "final form" of the new market.
My wife asks our teenage sons to send her Spotify links to music they like, so Spotify will start recommending songs she has already heard, or songs that sound a lot like all the songs she already listens to.
I read a lot of non-fiction, and I find that websites like Amazon and Goodreads do give decent suggestions, but they are books about topics I already know, sharing ideas I am already familiar with, in a style I like. I can feel the customer profit gradient descent maximization breathing down my neck. Looking at you, books with sans-serif titles, white backgrounds, and clever illustrations!
Algorithmic websites prioritize the new and the popular, whereas bookshops and libraries still feature the old and obscure (I realize that libraries have 30 copies of Harry Potter, but you get my point).
So, in my opinion, while these vicious market forces are currently destroying bookshops, I think it'll get to a steady state where bookshops serve a smaller, more loyal and niche audience.