death of the bookstore

[turbogrrl]

Vertigo Books in College Park, MD, is closing.
I'm tired of browsing final-sale racks, feeling as if I'm at a wake.
 
I'll still have Kramers, of course, and Politics and Prose; and Idle
Time and Second Story in the used-books department-- but for how long?
 
Second Story closed their Bethesda outpost, and recently shuttered the
Dupont Circle location for a makeover. What was once a bibliophile's
dream of towering shelves and books crammed in any-which way is now a
spacious and somewhat reserved store; I'd estimate that they removed
at least 500 linear feet of shelving. On the other hand, it seems like
perhaps reduction of choice is the way to go; there were a lot more
people in the store than there used to be.
 
But still. In Vertigo, as I was moping through the shelves, I could
hear the conversation happening at the front. "You'd think that a
large university could support *one* independent bookstore yards from
its front gate." A booming voice answered, "Oh, god. Students today--
I remember, I was talking to a professor almost a decade ago, and it's
worse now-- they don't read. They don't know how to. They look online
for answers, and write down whatever they find." The quiet voice of
the bookseller broke in. "Students don't really shop here. I almost
never see an undergraduate... I'm not sure why..."
 
I'm afraid to look up my favorite bookstores from Santa Cruz. If I
don't look, I can imagine them, humming along, living their lives.
Much like how I imagine my dead. Perhaps my loved ones are looking
forward to another bookstore to browse.
 
Vertigo will close on Saturday, 25 April. Everything is 20-50% off.