Are independent bookstores really worth saving?

Are independent bookstores really worth saving? (AP Photo)

Slate.com’s Farhad Manjoo says forget about supporting your local bookstore. “Buying books on Amazon is better for authors, better for the economy, and better for you.”

“The idea, he [Manjoo] says, that Amazon is destroying literary culture in this country is just totally false. In fact, people buy more books now and have access to more books than they did before,” said Luke Burbank in a discussion of Manjoo’s column on 97.3 KIRO FM’s Ross and Burbank Show.

Titles at Amazon.com are about 30 to 50 percent less expensive than retail book stores, reports Manjoo.

“It’s such an efficient way to get books,” said Burbank of the service. “Manjoo’s argument is, I think, legitimate in not only does it give more people more access to more books, but it actually helps writers and potential writers get their product out to people.”

Manjoo cites Amazon’s self-publishing system as one of the ways they are actually growing literary culture.

“I know somebody who works at this radio station who just wrote a book on the idea that you can self publish through Amazon and through Kindle, and even if you’re selling the book for 99 cents a piece, you can actually make money off of it,” said Burbank.

For those that fear loss of neighborhood bookstores will impact local culture, Manjoo counters saying, “There is little that’s “local” about most local bookstores.”

“Sure, every local bookstore promotes local authors, but its bread and butter is the same stuff that Amazon sells–mass-manufactured goods,” writes Manjoo.

Dave Ross says local shops still offer some things you can’t get online.

“They have a legitimate business model which is personal service. Maybe you want the recommendation of someone you meet in person, rather than read a bunch of people you’ve never met online.”

Do you think there’s still a reason to shop at local bookstores?

By JAMIE GRISWOLD, MyNorthwest.com Editor