A Little Book Run

Above, inside Barnes & Noble in Calabasas. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This evening, I was tasked by my former roommate, Jessica, who is currently hospitalized, to pick up a book for her.

She wanted to read James Patterson's Crazy House. The "problem" was, there are no bookstores that I could think of nearby. B. Dalton Booksellers and Border's Books are no more. I have been buying books through Amazon.com lately. So I checked online and found that there's a Barnes & Noble still open in Calabasas at The Commons shopping center, eight miles away.

I called and asked them to hold a copy for me. I was going to go there tomorrow morning, but decided to go there this evening. So I went.

When I got to Barnes & Noble, I went looking for Paul Kengor's A Pope and A President, about the collaboration between Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan that brought down the Iron Curtain, for myself. It was located in the World History section.

Once I got a copy, I headed to the cashier where the Crazy House book was being held for me. Sure enough, they got it right away and I was soon on the way to the hospital to give Jes her book.

It is nice to see a bookstore with new books is still around in the San Fernando Valley. It looks like I'll be going there more often.

The Japan News: "The Challenges and Charms of Real Bookstores"

Above, Books Kinokuniya in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It wasn't too long ago that if I wanted to go buy a book, I'd just head over to the local Barnes & Noble, Borders Books or B. Dalton Bookstore.

Sadly, none of those bookstores are around anymore (at least in my neck of the woods in the San Fernando Valley). Amazon and other online dealers have practically killed off the old reliable bookstore.

These days, if I want to buy a recently-released book, I would order it from Amazon. If I want to get a used or rare book, I have several favorite used bookstores to choose from. I can spend hours browsing through the aisles of books. Or, I can go to a specialty bookstore like Distant Lands Travel Bookstore in Pasadena (who, by the way, carries The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan).

Above, Distant Lands Travel Bookstore. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The situation is the same in Japan. Amazon and other online dealers have but major dents into Japan's bookstore industry. But, they are fighting back.

According to The Japan News (Yomiuri Shimbun):

Brick-and-mortar bookstores are facing hard times as Amazon and other online retailers offer convenience and lower prices. Nevertheless, many real bookstores are making serious efforts to win customers’ hearts and make their life and work more fulfilling by offering good book selections and well-devised displays in addition to store clerks’ sincere assistance. Foreign book departments in Japan are no exception.

 To see what steps some of Japan's bookstores are taking to win back and keep customers, go here.