Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

I would totally shop in store and buy digital.  I love physical books and always get caught up and buy more than I planned whenever I go into a bookstore—well I used to before I started reading digitally. Now I’m in an apartment with NO space for my books so it makes so much more sense to buy ebooks. But I definitely miss browsing and impulse buying in store. Okay I still impulse buy on Amazon but it’s just not the same.

Boys38: why yes!

I sure would if I could!  Browsing online, especially on my Kindle, doesn’t feel like “real” browsing, since I know there’s some logarithm making the selection for me.  I realize a bookstore is also making selections for me, but I can cruise a lot more titles in a shorter time on the shelves.

I would really love this option for series and older titles.  I might see a book in a physical store that looks good, but it’s the third book in the Scandalously Sweaty Seducers Series and numbers one and two are too old for the store to carry.  I HATE to start partway through a series.  I’d buy the first online on the basis of liking the look of the physical #3, and if they’re any good, I’m hooked on all of them.

methods99: There are at least 99 methods for selecting a book.

My book buying has definitely changed. I used to buy based on the books that were advertised in the back of the book I was currently reading. I tended to read the same author or genre over and over again. I was constantly looking for a good book. Now with the internet and the ability to read dozens of reviews, I have more books in my TBR pile than I can conceivable read in my lifetime.

Barnes and Nobel already have a system that encourages this. You can go and shop in the bookstore, read selections of any book in the store on your nook for one hour, and then purchase the book for your nook. They are encouraging this behavior by ‘giveaways” at their cafe (sometimes a smoothie, others a cookie, or a free box of chocolate samples) if you show your nook to the clerk. While I normally hate shopping, B&N have tempted me away from my homey comfort to browse by the time to sit and read. (The wifi is free, and my local b&n also has charging areas so beside comfy chairs.

I generally will buy the book where I find it. If it is a book store, I’ll buy the print version. If I find it at Books On Board or AllRomance, that’s where I buy it. That being said, I live in a very small town with one very small book store that has vastly cut back on print stock. So, my print book buying is down to almost nil. If it is a specific title that I can find nowhere else, I’ll turn to Amazon.com and get the print title there. I actually own a Nook Color, but the local B&N doesn’t have wi-fi, not do I have wireless at home, so it’s pretty much a waste trying to buy e-versions of books in the store. So, I find myself replacing old favorites if I can find them in e-version or purchase titles by authors I already know.  I’ve purchased so very many lousy ebooks by dint of publishers’ blurbs or reviews by who-knows-who on the net and been stung, that I pretty much just don’t buy books any more. I’ve gone from an easy $8 thou a year to maybe $50 a month. If I could find old faves in e-version, that figure would be higher, but re-releases (Dana Stabenow’s first Kate Shugak book was re-released in Feb, but not it e-version) are slow in coming. Since I didn’t start reading romance novels until my divorce five years ago, my ‘old faves’ tend toward mysteries and general fiction.

I held out against digital until very recently because I love books as objects almost as much as I love to read. All and sundry know that my ideal gift is a fancy-schmancy edition of a book I love.

Having said that, although I did occasionally read something from Gutenberg, I acquired a reader last week. I can’t see myself giving up on bookstores, even if I feel like they are giving up on me (but that’s a whole other rant).

Part of the fun, for me anyway, of shopping in a bookstore (and working in one) was talking to people and seeing what others were interested in. That has lead to many a new find for me, and hopefully, them. Romance was my section, so I got to know my customers.

If I could buy digital books at the store, I wouldn’t feel so bad about going and sitting and reading on my device while drinking something rather than just getting something to drink and bringing my own read with me. Does that make sense? Of course, that also suggests that the bookstore would have a compatible format for me and my reader available.

spamword- read92. I try!

I’d love it. I don’t anything can replace standing if front of a book shelf and having a conversation with a stranger over which book to buy next, what they thought of X and oh they have to try Y! If they liked Z, they will love it!

I can get gift cards for Walmart, Target, Applebee’s, iTunes, etc in set dollar amounts. What I love to see is EBOOKS like that. Covers are on the card, Back copy on the back, buy it, scratch of a silver slip, imput a code and BOOM! On my reader. Hell, make it dual code system if they must for epub and kindle. Once one has been activate, the other is useless. That makes sure it is only used once… like iTunes.

I could grab handfuls of a book I loved to give away not just generic $ amount to a specific publisher/distributor. They would take up a helluva lot less space than physical books but could be grouped the same, by publisher or genre or whatever. Then I’d have my cover of PERFECT PLAY and my digi copy and could give it to my FIVE BFF and share the joy. These cards would/could then be kept by the reader as a little library. (Okay, I just want to take out the Perfect Play card and drool every once in a while)

The technology exists. Why won’t they use it?

CODE: able49 I can think of 49 ways this would enABLE bookstores to embrace the digi-craze

Damn, forgot a point.

And wouldn’t that be a way to work around the BOOK SIGNING problem ereaders often feel left out of. Have an author sign the card!

I wouldn’t go to a bookstore for ebooks. I usually shop based on author, and then I’ll browse the ‘other people who bought this book also bought’ recs on Amazon. I end up with quite a backlog this way :)

I browse and buy magazines at bookstores because my Kindle doesn’t do color, and I do like magazines. If I see a paperback that looks good in the bookstore, I’ll probably buy it, but for a hardback, I want to download the free sample of the book and read it before committing.

I voted ‘no, not really’, because it’s been years since I’ve been in a real bookstore. Our town doesn’t have one unless you count WalMart, which I don’t!

Before the advent of the internet, I’d have to travel 50-100 miles to find a bookstore. I did join a lot of bookclubs, but hardbacks can fill up a bookcase fast.

Amazon may be a lot of things, but it saved me, allowing me to buy paperback and then, with its Kindle for PC, allowing me to buy ebooks. Sure does save a lot of room.  :-)

@Inez Kelley—I’ve actually gotten some review copies like that.  Postcard sized, scratch off the code on the back, go to a website and input the code and after a bit of wrestling with registration, e-book on my computer (and then on my reader via Adobe Digital Editions).  So while the technology is definitely there to do it, the process really needs to be streamlined because the registration part was a pain in the butt.  I will note that the publisher that was doing it is now using NetGalley, so I suspect a lot of people had problems with the registration bit.

I really don’t do a lot of browsing when I buy e-books—a lot of my SF/F purchases are re-reads and most of my romance purchases are based on recommendations or are a few authors whose books are a must-buy for me.  For me, the beauty of e-books is the availability of the backlist. Bookstores usually don’t have a lot of backlist titles available and some of my favorite writers aren’t stocked in my local stores anymore so my only options are ordering physical copies from Amazon of B&N or buying e-books.

My current method is to browse the physical books and take pictures of the covers with my cell phone. Then when I get home, I can go online to buy them for my Sony reader…It can get frustrating, though, if what I’m looking at isn’t available digitally (shocking, I know!) or is more expensive than I’m willing to pay just then—if I then decide to try to go ahead and buy the physical copy, sometimes it’s just not convenient. The store may be sold out, or be an hour’s drive away (and with three kids, just picking up and going to the bookstore when it’s an hour’s drive is just not always doable.) I can sometimes pick books up at the local library to read and decide if I want my own copy, but frankly, the selection there is thin, and there’s no telling if or when they’ll ever get a copy of a specific book…

I do miss shopping in bookstores since I got my ereader. Before B&N turned over so much space to toys, that was one of the reasons I was considering the nook. I ended up buying a kindle, though.

And by the way - tracykitn’s method of taking pictures of covers on your cell phone? If you have a smart phone you can use the photo (or bar code) to search Amazon for the book on your phone. Then buy it from there, add it to your wish list, whatever. It’s a little messier to buy a kindle version. I think you’d have to add to your wish list, then bring up your wish list on a computer, select the book and choose the kindle version.

I do this with the Nook app on my phone. Even if I don’t have my Nook with me, (which I usually don’t) I will look it up via the mobile app to see if it’s available either on Google books or bn.com. If it is, I’ll add the preview to my library, and the next time I turn on my Nook, there’s the preview. No more forgetting titles I meant to add to my ‘to read’ pile! Also works at the library, if I see something I want to own vs. borrow.

(However, I do still buy print, too.)

There’s a B&N here, but I don’t think I’ve set foot in it since I got my first Kindle in 2008 as it’s on the other side of town, and I seldom go over there.  There are no bookstores on my side of town unless you count Wal-Mart and the grocery store rack.

I’m hooked on e-books now and don’t regret it - don’t have to find a space for them and don’t have to dust them.  My Kindle fits in my purse, and when it’s not with me, my books are available on my smartphone’s Kindle app.  The rare hardback or paperback book I get these days comes from Amazon.

I guess I feel I already have the ability to do this if I wish. I have the 3G Kindle as well as cell phone, ipad and itouch Kindle apps so I can pretty much buy a book instantly from anywhere (and have.) A kiosk for me would actually be more time consuming. I like that my Kindle knows it’s me so my personal information doesn’t have to be keyed in on what may be an unsecured network somewhere. I can just click and read. If I see something I like perusing a book store, I can check prices and buy from Amazon etc before leaving the store. I have also found doing so much of my shopping “online” has made me a smarter shopper. There are less impulse purchases of “Oh the cover looks great” and more books chosen by excellent reviews or recommendations. As a result I have been reading a higher percentage of books I really enjoy.

I still spend a lot of time in physical book stores. I love browsing that way, and it’s often how I discover new authors. I’m a list maker anyway, so I’ll go to a bookstore and find things and make a list, and include what the store is charging for it. Then I compare to other stores including the local used book/comic book store and the ebook price. While online, I also check the overall ratings and maybe skim through reviews, though usually I end up not agreeing with the majority. 9/10 times lately I’ve ended up with the ebook format, either because it’s the cheapest or because I couldn’t find the physical book anywhere. Our local B&N seems to do a poor job at stocking all of the books in a series, and Im too impatient to wait for shipping. It would be great if I could shamelessly bring my e-reader into a store and shop both ways simultaneously, but I own a Kindle. My hubby takes his to the store and shops right there, but I’m just not comfortable with that.

We still have a Borders at the mall,  but I only go a couple times a years (at most and I don’t think I was in there at all in 2009-2010.)  But I do like to pop into the downtown library and browse through the new selections.  I have seen something I didn’t realized was coming out and ordered it right there on my Kindle if the ebook price is to my liking.  Our library’s sole electronic offering is downloadable audiobooks. 

We also have a bookstore that is new/used.  The used offerings, interestingly enough are former rental library books from other areas. 

So the idea of browse and buy electronically isn’t bad, but I just don’t see any advantage to it over my library/Kindle method.

I have been in love with this idea since e-books came out. Can you imagine being an author doing a reading—because it’s hard to sign a Nook and still have infinite room for all the other autographs you want—and having your ENTIRE backlist available? I’m not just talking for someone like Janet Evanovich, but for Missy Mid-List, who has three books out, but one is only available digitally (‘cause the rights reverted back to her, so she put it up on Smashwords). Her sales could soar.

It’s a question of being able to combine digital buying/reading with the personal touch of An Event. (Note the capital letters!) I see it as a total win for everyone. Reader, writer, bookseller.

Physical book stores are GREAT for browsing, but I don’t find that I go to them on purpose any more.  If there’s one in the vicinity of other shopping then you can’t peel me away, but when it comes to day-to-day purchasing (and sometimes it is daily), it’s all about the interwebs and the comfort of my couch (or office chair, or passenger seat of the car…)

I have to second Christine as well:

A kiosk for me would actually be more time consuming.

With purchasing options on-board the device (which is infinitely portable), why would you need the kiosk?

I’ve thought that the bookstore should have empty covers on the shelf alongside the books. They are already printing covers anyway. If you wanted the book as an e-version you would carry the empty cover to the cash register and purchase that and get the e-book sent to your account. They could make reader covers similar to view-binders so we could slide the art into it to match what we’re reading. Afterwards we could slide it into an album so that all the people who complain about not being able to check out people’s bookshelves when they visit would have something to snoop through. It would also solve the booksigning issue.

As a nook owner I do in theory already have the ability to buy books right inside B&N, although I have yet to actually try this. The main thing standing in my way on it is that every time I’ve tried to do anything on my nook in the B&N I frequent, the connection is really, REALLY slow.

So right now what pulls me into a bookstore is if there’s a specific print release I’m looking for, from one of the authors on my list of people I Must Still Absolutely Buy In Print, people who I wish to still be able to read if the zombie apocalypse comes and we don’t have any electricity anymore. ;) I don’t randomly browse anymore—in no small part because the vast majority of my purchases ARE now digital, and those are driven by online word-of-mouth as well as by downloading B&N’s samples of those books.

But I would really, REALLY love to be able to come into a bookstore and reliably browse with my nook. Better yet, I’d like to be able to buy a print book AND be given an unlocked download to get the electronic one at the same time. Those authors on the aforementioned Preparing My Zombie Apocalypse Library? I’m buying them electronically TOO.

I like options. :) I go to physical bookstores for the experience of being IN a bookstore. I’ll spend hours browsing my favorite sections. Now that I’m in grad school, I don’t have the luxury of taking a day just to browse the bookstore (though I wish I had when our Borders was still open). If I could, I would. And if it meant I could choose to buy a book digital or print, it would make me go there more often.

I do have an insane TBR pile, though, so I tend to buy mostly on recommendation - not always.

I voted not really because it’s been a very, very long time since I was last in a bookstore just to browse.  Maybe a year ago or so, when I had a B&N gift certificate to use.  I’m clearly not a book shopper the way other people here are, as I’ve never stood around talking to other customers about which books we’re looking at; book shopping has always been a quiet, solitary, relaxing experience for me, which is is why switching to internet shopping hasn’t really been too much of a difference.  It’s actually been an improvement, as with the advent of coffee shop bookstores, physical book shopping became rather uncomfortable for me—I preferred the tomb-like, quiet bookstores that smelt of books to the current model with kids playing with toys, people sitting around talking, and the smell of coffee permeating everything.

If I AM somewhere and see a book I’m interested in, I usually just scan the barcode or cover with the Amazon Remembers app on my iPod (or just write down the title if no wifi is available) so I can check it out when I get home to my Kindle.

You know, if I didn’t have the nook, I would tell you that absolutely, yes, I miss the physical book buying experience and would love to see that happen. (Because I do actually miss it) But, see, I have a nook, and I almost never make it to a BN store.

But then I realized that I don’t browse when actually buying. When buying, I’m usually looking for something or someone specific. When I’m browsing for things to try, I browse in the library, because I’m too cheap to spend money on an author that’s a complete unknown to me. And I still can’t download books in a library, so I do still miss that chance.

I’m the jerk who, when she goes to a book store, takes note of books that might look interesting to go check them out at the library. Don’t get me wrong - once I’ve tried an author and liked them, (or once sources I trust highly recommend them) I’ll start buying. But I *do* still miss the browsing experience. I just can never justify it when I’m usually tired after a long day’s work, and I know I can get any books I need to at home. A 3 or 4 hour (round trip) commute will do that to you.

So there’s nothing I can complain about - I have the chances to browse physical book stores. And as much as I say I miss it, I still don’t do it.

I love this idea, and Inez Kelley’s suggestion about book gift cards. The problem of discovery/browsing in a world without shelves has been a concern of mine for years.

And wouldn’t that be a way to work around the BOOK SIGNING problem ereaders often feel left out of. Have an author sign the card!

The Nook guy at one the B&Ns; Delilah Marvelle and I visited on tour had us sign a Nook cover for display & sale. He indicated that some Nook owners have purchased second and third covers as they collect author signatures on the first one(s).

When we moved to the back of beyond, I find myself looking more and more at digital options. I have the NOOKcolor, and have a large ‘supply’ of samples, which I can buy if I get to the end and HAVE to turn the page, all without leaving the comfort of my bed.

But on those occasions when we do go down the mountain to a real, live, bookstore, I’d love to be able to find the book and purchase the digital copy. Not only do we live in the back of beyond, we’ve downsized and shelf space is ... well, it isn’t.

It IS harder to browse the on-line shops, however. I do tend to seek out authors, books recommended by others. I’m more likely to have a good idea of what I’m looking for before shopping the digital venues.

Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist—of Mystery

I answered “no, not really,” but as some others have said, that’s mostly in response to proximity. I have to drive an hour to get to a bookstore that sells new books. It’s been ages since I’ve even bothered to stop in when I happen to be over that way so being able to shop for e-books too isn’t a draw.

I do enjoy wandering the book aisles and chatting with other readers, but I get that when I go to the local used book store. I do often pick up the books in a series that are available at the UBS and then come home and fill in the gaps with e-books, so I suppose if the UBS could somehow sell me e-books, I’d buy them there to keep my money in the local economy, but I doubt that’s going to happen.

I would love to do that, but since I doubt the prices will drop it wouldn’t change anything.  Also, due to the prices, I get most of my e-books from the library.

... I have the chances to browse physical book stores. And as much as I say I miss it, I still don’t do it.

Stephanie, you and I must be related, because my response is yours exactly. The library is my go-to for what used to be impulse buys, too many of which were disappointments. But when I find an author I like, look out.

OT: This is what I wish that idiot from HarperCollins understood: I use the library as my source for new authors. When I find one I like, I buy everything, including the audio version (hello, J. R. Ward/Jessica Bird) solely because of the library. I’m a goldmine, Big 6, but you’re too stupid to see that.

I answered “No, not really”.  I used to like browsing in a bookstore.  I probably would still enjoy it, but I’ve got young kids and I never get the time (even though the book store is not far from me at all). 

I’ve become an online browser, and I love it!  I love going to Carina Press and reading about this months’ new releases.  ARe?  Oh, how I love the listing of “types” of books.  I can click “Shifter” and just browse and browse. 

I do this with my library, too!  They’ve got an AWESOME online catalog.  We’re part of a big system, so only about 5% of the books available for me to check out are in my library anyway.  So I browse the card catalog and place holds (or make a note if it’s available at my location).  Then it’s just a quick trip in and out to pick it up when it comes in.

I really enjoy online browsing.  I don’t know that I miss the physical experience.  Plus, when I *do* decide to buy a book, with the ereader I’ve got instant gratification.

Most of the books I buy (and I don’t buy a lot) come from either a really good review by someone I trust, or because I’ve loved that author when I’ve read them in the library.  But I still love the browsing, and sometimes the browsing ends up in a sale.  For me, the online browsing is a win!

I work at a Borders and we have a dedicated computer terminal for people to buy and download books to a Kobo. It’s only been used a few times. I’d like it better if it also worked for Sony and other ereaders, but ti’s strictly for the kobo.

For fiction I currently buy e-books based on recommendations from other readers and from browsing at B&N. When I see something at the store I’d like to buy I use my B&N app on my iPhone to download the book.

To take it further a kiosk might be better for the individual store’s statistics. Currently my purchases reflect on the online store only. If there was a way for me to make the purchase and give credit to the local store that would be better. It would reflect the interests of the people who shop there and would give them the needed sales statistics to keep them open.

In Canada with the Kobo and Chapters/Indigo stores you can go to the search kiosk in the store look up the book you’re interested in and either have it tell you where it is in the store itself, buy it for your kobo or pre-order the paper version for delivery or pick up. All are services I’ve used. The best part for me was that you can print the details of whatever book you’re looking for so you can wander around with the acurate title and search the shelves or start a physical wishlist in your purse.

mary frances

I would really love this option for series and older titles.  I might see a book in a physical store that looks good, but it’s the third book in the Scandalously Sweaty Seducers Series and numbers one and two are too old for the store to carry.  I HATE to start partway through a series.  I’d buy the first online on the basis of liking the look of the physical #3, and if they’re any good, I’m hooked on all of them.

Absolutely.  This is the frustrating thing about browsing in stores exclusively.  It’s especially tricky when the book doesn’t indicate what number it is in the series.

Interesting post. I sincerely wish I could buy mp3s at brick & mortar stores—I love browsing CDs, but hate owning them.

I’m not sure I’m at that point with my Kindle yet, though. Right now I’m on a budget and my number one factor in deciding whether to buy new/used/ebook is price. You can generally scrounge up some coupons or find a deal for paperbacks, and there’s the added bonus of being able to trade them in at the UBS when you’re done reading them. If you get 3 chapters into the book & discover you hate it, you can also return it to the store or pass it off on someone with different tastes—not always possible with ebooks.

If I were browsing at the store & found a book I was incredibly excited about, though, having the digital option would be sweet. I’m disappointed that bookstores don’t sell some kind of ebook voucher that would allow you to purchase the digital copy in-store & download it later. I love the book cover idea mentioned above.

The thing I miss most about in-store browsing vs on-line browsing is being able to read a sample of the book.  It still amazes me how me authors do not have excerpts on their websites.

I really like the idea of being able to support local booksellers without having to add to the mountain of books that is my library. Browsing in store is part of the fun of getting new books, but lugging those suckers home on the subway and having to figure out where to put them is decidedly un-fun. I got a Kindle for just that reason. Plus, when you have moved as often as I have in the last 10 years, not hauling a mahjillion boxes of books is a goddamn miracle.

But another benefit of e-books in brick-and-mortar stores is that indie booksellers would be able to carry a larger range of titles and not have to be so constrained by their physical size. I know that wasn’t the question posed in the original post but something like that would make indie stores more competitive.
There is a new bookstore that opened very close to my house but I read a hella lot of fantasy and romance and their selection is not really to my taste. I do try to buy from them occasionally to be supportive but I generally buy only on my Kindle. If they could expand their range by adding e-books, I think that would benefit everybody. I would feel better about my buying habits and smaller stores could maybe get a finger in the Amazon/B&N pie.

I love bookstores, libraries and digital books.  Yes, I’d buy ebooks at a bookstore—if I really owned them.  I mean, if the book was mine and could be moved from player to new player, converted to whatever format was going.  But we don’t own our current ebooks—according to the publisher, we’ve just rented them for a short time.  With each format change we’ve got to repurchase our entire book collection again.  I think I’m going to buy the new ION Book Saver personal scanner shown at the Consumer Electronics show & create my own ebooks and convert all my “keepers”—which I own and can legally convert to any format—into pdfs. 

I want the same rights to my ebooks as I had to print—I can make it into a purse, a lamp, a chair, paper my walls with it, cut it up, make paperairplanes or keep it in my attic for my grandkids to laugh at in future days, it was MINE.  Now noone wants my old articles and files on “floppy disks” all 4 inches wide and I can’t access them anymore since those drives are pretty much museum pieces.  I could, however, choose to convert a few I’m proud of into multiple formats and transfer them again and again to newer machines.  I own them! Not so my new ebooks.  Sigh!  Rest in peace libraries, rest in peace books stores.  We’ve all got to rent our keepers for another new year if we want to read them—and even if we’ve faithfully done that for 10,15,20 years, we still have to “buy” them each year.

Well, yes and no.  When we lived not so far from civilization, it used to be that our night out would usually be dinner and Borders.  We’d spend a couple hours there on a Friday night (yes, we’re geeks).  Of course, those were grad school years, so usually I’d just be making a list of things to look for at the library - I didn’t buy much.  Now that I can afford to buy books, I only have one little tiny Borders Express available.  It’s not on the close list, and the staff are generally helpful and nice, but it’s not the kind of place you want to spend a lot of time - it’s just too cramped and crowded. 

That’s one reason I bought the Kobo - if I’m ordering books online anyway, then I might as well buy the kind that are delivered instantly! 

But if we still lived somewhere near a nice big bookstore, good for browsing and with some comfy chairs, it would be awesome to go up to the register with a pile of books and have them loaded to my account (I wouldn’t even mind waiting until I got home to download them).  Or to go to a kiosk and buy book one of some series that I’d missed out on. 

There’s something about looking at all the covers, and paging through the books that is just more satisfying than buying online.  I hardly buy anything online if I haven’t read at least one review from a site I trust.  But in person I can skim through and see if the book grabs me - I take more risks.  Or at list different kinds.  Maybe I just need to get more in the habit of downloading samples.

spamword: series93.  Now that’s TOO many books in a single series!

OT: This is what I wish that idiot from HarperCollins understood: I use the library as my source for new authors. When I find one I like, I buy everything, including the audio version (hello, J. R. Ward/Jessica Bird) solely because of the library. I’m a goldmine, Big 6, but you’re too stupid to see that.

I think you’re right. We must be related. Publishers have made all kinds of profit from me off authors that I tried on a whim at the library.

I tried to buy ebooks while browsing in Borders - it would have been rude to buy from other sources while there though and their ebooks were not available/did not exist. This is before the most recent last-ditch push to ebooks that Borders made, but they were definitely advertising their reader in the store while I was shopping. I couldn’t buy a digital version of the books that I was interested in. I have their apps, I would’ve been able to read it on my iPod if they had actually had their selection available.
That was the AOL-Time Warner building. There may be some irony about a bookstore in the AOL-TW being unable to effectively deliver an ebook to an actual shopper.

I use the Barnes and Noble app to shop, but their samples sometimes end before the book has started - they start at the very beginning, so you may get pages of blank paper/title page/reviews of the author’s other books. I have had one that stopped halfway through the first page of the story. Since I don’t have a Nook and don’t want a dedicated reader I see that area of the physical store as wasted space. I haven’t tried to see if I could access the samples on a different device, if it is possible they have not made it super-obvious.

For non-fiction how-to books, I still need to browse and I don’t buy digital. I do use digital patterns but for techniques, I want photos that stay put while I try out the stitch/recipe/whatever. Actually, I end up printing the digital patterns out anyway.

I love the card idea, especially if the actual samples of the book were available at the same time. (Even something as simple as having url’s printed on the card so I could read the sample on a website would work as long as there was internet access at the same time.)

I think the Overdrive Library sales function may eventually play a role in my book shopping. I only recently regained access to the public library ebooks, but there is something magical about “buy it now” juxtaposed with “you are 35 out of 52 patrons on the waiting list”. The library has some methods of sorting books that do help me browse online (I also don’t care for most of the website formats if I want to browse.) Reading through “recently returned” and sorting all new books by the date that books were added to the library seems more like physical browsing.

I have a nook and a B&N less than a mile from my house. I have taken my nook there and in theory really like the idea of browsing in store. OTOH…why? Why go all the way there to shop when I can do it without getting off my couch?

On a slightly unrelated topic, I have been a B&N member for over five years. This year I dropped my membership. By not allowing any member discounts for nook books, I find there is no reason to pay for a membership any more. When I was buying physical books my membership paid for itself within a short time. But now? No. I think unless B&N starts adding member discounts to nook purchases the whole membership program is going to go down the tubes.

This was the original plan for Borders and actually went into action at a few stores before the poo hit the fan financially.  Unfortunately that didn’t happen at my local Borders.  They went digital too late, plus there were some issues with the hundreds of different eReaders out there, so I heard.

I have long advocated this.  B&N’s Nook having this function was actually a great idea, as was the ability to read any book they carry for free while in the store, just as if you picked up a physical book off the shelves and parked your butt in a chair.

What I do now is go to the local Borders or the B&N about an hour away (there’s a closer store, but it isn’t as nice in regards to staff who read and know books), browse, talk to customers and staff, then go home to buy online from whoever is cheapest.  I feel kind of bad about that, because the store doesn’t get the credit.  I wish there was a way that I could buy through the Borders.com website and give the credit for the sale to my favorite store (currently closing).

Ago97 - Hard to believe that I didn’t have my Sony eReader so long ago as 1997.

I’ve just gotten into digital reading in the past year, but since one of my unbreakable habits is to take a book into the bath with me I still fly through all the print books the library lets me check out, or that I can pull from my ever-increasing stack by the side of the bed.

To me there’s nothing like browsing in a physical bookstore (or library, which is where I do most of my browsing now) for discovering that perfect book you didn’t even know you were looking for. Staff recommendations, hand-curated displays—I’ve spent years working in bookstores, too, so being able to physically pick up and look at a book as well as read the blurbs and the cover copy help me decide when a book seems worth my time and when it’s trying too hard to sell itself as something it’s not. (This is a particular issue with nonfiction books, which can talk a good game on the internet but then you flip to a random page in the print book and you realize the prose falls apart or it’s half blank space and you’ve wasted a good fourteen bucks.)

I still remember that day in high school when I walked into a B. Dalton and a flash of a purple cover caught my eye from the new arrivals shelf. Normally I just made a beeline for the sci-fi/fantasy section, but something about that shade of purple all the way across the store made me turn and see what it was about.

It was the first Harry Potter book. As soon as I touched the cover I knew I would love it. I’ve never had that kind of serendipity happen on the internet, despite ten years of online book-buying.

Captcha: might98—Scholastic released the first Harry Potter in the US in 1998.

You can usually get a sample of the ebook, so why would you need to browse physical?

Where I find browsing physical very useful is in looking for new authors (hard to browse a nook for an author you don’t even know about) and for remembering authors at a glance. “Oh yeah! Cool! She has a new book out!”

I so love browsing physical books my Kindle is thick with dust. I love the bookstore experience and I’ve found myself gravitating towards physical bookstores more often than not these days. I loved the idea of Kindle, and I love the convenience of it for certain situations, but I actually enjoy reading a Kindle book less than I do the same book in a physical format.

If I could browse physical books and then purchased to my Kindle on the spot, maybe I wouldn’t feel this way, but I am forced into the either/or of it all and, in the long run, I choose physical books over ebooks. I am not willing to forego the physical bookstore experience, I guess, for the small amount of convenience and barely-there savings Kindle affords me.

I love bookstores. There’s definitely a sensory experience that comes with wandering around bookshelves.

But, because of my limited budget, I rarely actually buy.  Usually, I make note of promising titles/authors and then see if I can get ‘em from the library.  I confess I haven’t quite made the leap to ebook yet, even though I myself am now epublished.

If—big if—ebooks were priced reasonably (i.e. lower than print), I might be tempted to buy if the bookstore made some kind of kiosk available.

So the short answer would be “maybe.”

I live in Canada and don’t have the KOBO/Chapters love.  The KOBO can be iffy, you either get a great one or a lemon (friends experience and on-line reviews).  You also need to register a credit card to download anybook, even free ones (a friend works there and has seen a few come back when people discover the need for a credit card).

I bought an inexpensive tablet and downloaded the Kindle app for android.  No trouble downloading free stuff from Amazon, just register and account.

The tablet can read pretty much any format, so I’m avoiding Chapters.  I’ll buy “real” books or magazines there but the electronic’s I’ll avoid.

Oh, and does anyone know, if I download in the US on my Canadian e-reader will it still be on my machine when I cross the border???

B&N already does this via the Nook (NOOK?). Indeed with the Read-In-Store feature they function like a library, albeit a Brigadoon library!

With many Indies signing up to Google ebooks some might offer something along the same line. Believe some are putting up shelf talkers with barcodes that can be scanned for the ebook option.

Unfortunately if you have a Kindle you are out of luck. Amazon and physical bookstores do not go together. (Amazon’s strategy with the Kindle has many targets and one of them is to push physical bookstores over a cliff as fast as possible).

I’m doing my version of shopping in a retail store while looking for digital content, I’ve just downloaded the Book Catalogue app for my android phone.

And since my phone is grafted to my hand.  I may as well make use of it.  A better option will be when my nookcolor comes with a bar code app that does the same thing.

I’ll let you guys know how that pans out.

I don’t know, I find myself browsing using my Nook quite a bit. I also do a lot of browsing at Amazon.com, though I don’t own a Kindle. I find Amazon.com a lot more user friendly than Barnes & Nobles online.

I read a lot of the Harlequin Presents line, which isn’t really available in the store anyhow. I don’t see a reason to go into the book store anymore unless the title you want isn’t available in digital formation

I LOVE MY NOOK!

I would defnitely do it - but it would have to be well set up and readily available. Also I’m not sure that I would want to have to carry my eReader with me and I don’t think you would have to. Surely they could rig it so that it would just go to your online account (if you don’t have the eReader or whatever device you are using) available and you can download it when you get home.

I like the gift card idea. I love collecting things so that would be cute - and not take up much space cos for me the point of the ereader is to not take up much space.

I find browsing for books online rather painful. It’s great for authors you love or for something specific like someting you saw in the book store (i write down titles and authors) or was recommended. But i find it difficult for picking out new things at random. The recommended lists are good but can be limiting.

Whereas I love browsing bookstores and libraries. Admittedly I’m a judge a book by its cover - well i get drawn into the book by its cover, read the blurb and occasionally do the first page test and pick books out that way. At the moment I do that at bookstores then go to the library or now buy the ebook version. But if i could support the bookstore by buying it there (and not to have the eReader handy cos i don’t carry it everywhere) then I definitely would

One of the biggest music chains in Australia, Sanity, installed digital download kiosks for music in their stores.
Funnily enough, they’re one of the few left who are not only surviving, but thriving.

I have a BN membership that I’ve been loyal to for years but this past Christmas I got a Kindle. I love the portability of my Kindle and having access to so many books at any time but I do miss browsing through the bookstore. I find that I prefer to find my Kindle books online on my laptop rather than using their Kindle Store on the device itself. Despite how much I love my Kindle, I still love going into BN though. I’ve been more generous about trying new authors and buying new books on my Kindle, but when I read one that I really love, I want it in hard copy too, so I still buy some books to have on my shelf. Also, the series that I already own I still buy in hardcopy, not wanting to have different versions.

I have been guilty of browsing at a BN, finding a book I want to read but don’t want the hardcopy of and buying it on my Kindle there in the store (they do have free Wi-fi—it works with the Kindle just like any other computer device)...I always feel bad when I do though, like they might kick me out of the store, lol.

I use the Barnes and Noble app to shop, but their samples sometimes end before the book has started - they start at the very beginning, so you may get pages of blank paper/title page/reviews of the author’s other books.

I HATE it when publishers include only an ittybitty sample of a book—-don’t they understand that the more into a book you get for free, the more likely you are to PAY to find out what happens?! I could use the nook read-in-store feature to read more when the sample was too short to even figure out what a book was about (for heaven’s sake), but that is obviously not an option at 2am.

I enjoy browsing for stuff at BN and Borders and the library.  Bookstore cafes and the comfy chairs at the library reading room make them relaxing places to spend time.

Olivia said

I still remember that day in high school when I walked into a B. Dalton and a flash of a purple cover caught my eye from the new arrivals shelf…

This story is magical and reminds me of how I found a favorite book or two of mine.

I already do this.  I rarely go to Borders on purpose to buy a book for myself, but if I find myself there because one of the kids is buying a book, or shopping for someone’s birthday, or for whatever reason, I always take a whirl through the sections I like, and if I see something interesting, I download a sample on Kindle, standing right there at the bookshelf.  I did it yesterday in fact, for my daughter, who expressed interest in Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel.  I guess that’s probably rude, what with the big Kobo display at the front of the store, but whatever.  Maybe Borders should have built a better ereader.

Unfortunately if you have a Kindle you are out of luck.

Not really.  :)

freedom42 - I have the freedom to download 42 books to my Kindle while standing in a physical bookstore.