Barnes & Nobel is doing well lately and adding 25 new stores for 2025–but…

[Packard]

This at my local B & N for over a year: (But I don’t know if the circuit is live.)

 

[luvmytoolz]

I can't load the pic, what am I looking at?

Looks like a mobile on the floor?

 

[tjbnwi]

I can't load the pic, what am I looking at?

Looks like a mobile on the floor?

Looks like a receptacle that has been removed from the floor outlet. I looks like the wires are still connected.

Tom

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Looks like a trip hazard, even if it's not hot.

 

[Vondawg]

And a place that pumps books they think you should buy lol

 

[Cheese]

Like Tom mentioned, it appears to be a floor box that's had its innards ripped out and placed perfectly in the path for stepping on with bare feet...not unlike those fresh dog turds that have also been placed perfectly in your yard for when you mow the grass.

As an aside...is this Nobel guy the same one that invented dynamite?

 

[tjbnwi]

Like Tom mentioned, it appears to be a floor box that's had its innards ripped out and placed perfectly in the path for stepping on with bare feet...not unlike those fresh dog turds that have also been placed perfectly in your yard for when you mow the grass.

As an aside...is this Nobel guy the same one that invented dynamite?

Not according to Wiki.

Tom

 

[luvmytoolz]

At least it's a good sign in general with more bookstores opening up!

 

[Crazyraceguy]

At least it's a good sign in general with more bookstores opening up!

For the next generation..........(that can't read?)

 

[Packard]

For the next generation..........(that can't read?)

There are more Starbucks Shops in the USA than there are libraries. (Heard on TV.)

Libraries are missing the boat. They should invite coffee shops to open in the library. It would generate visitor traffic, and generate some rental income.

If it was nicely done, I would drink my coffee in a library.

 

[luvmytoolz]

For the next generation..........(that can't read?)

And/or just don't see any benefit in reading sadly.

The wife and I are into so many different fiction and especially non-fiction categories, whereas our kids have a very narrow focus of what they like, so most of our collection will be getting sold over time as much won't be of interest to the kids.

 

[Packard]

Many years ago, before digital books, my book shelf was getting overwhelmed. I decided to gift some of my popular fiction.

For every 5 books I gave away, I was gifted 10 in response. So the process was futile.

Luckily, my niece, mother and sister were avid readers and they did not feel obligated to gift me in return (and some of the books I got in return were worth my time and got read).

After that, I gave away one book at a time with instructions, “When you are done reading it give it to someone with these same instructions. Whatever you do, do not return it to me.”

That worked better. They did not feel guilty if they gave the book away and none came back to me.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Aside from giving the daughters of one of my work colleagues a large amount of books they absolutely loved, very few people the missus and I know bother to read books at all, and even if gifted, likely wouldn't look at it ever.

It's sad really, I think books are such an important part of developing comprehension skills as well as fostering the imagination, especially when young, but reading just seems "out of fashion" these days for the most part.

I couldn't imagine growing up as a kid without reading everything from Enid Blyton to Frank and James Herbert, Stephen King, etc. Not to mention the obligatory "Lord of the Flies", "1984" and "Romeo and Juliet" in school ;-)

 

[Packard]

Aside from giving the daughters of one of my work colleagues a large amount of books they absolutely loved, very few people the missus and I know bother to read books at all, and even if gifted, likely wouldn't look at it ever.

It's sad really, I think books are such an important part of developing comprehension skills as well as fostering the imagination, especially when young, but reading just seems "out of fashion" these days for the most part.

I couldn't imagine growing up as a kid without reading everything from Enid Blyton to Frank and James Herbert, Stephen King, etc. Not to mention the obligatory "Lord of the Flies", "1984" and "Romeo and Juliet" in school ;-)

I had a Polish coworker before I retired. He left Poland when it was still under t Russian domination.

I asked him what was the first thing he did when he landed here. He said he asked where there was a bookstore, and when he got there he bought Lord of the Flies, and he read it that night.

He had read the book in Poland, but as mimeographed sheets stapled together. He didn’t have the whole book, just a couple of chapters at a time which got passed around (and hidden when not being read).

By contrast Lord of the Flies was required reading that I might not have read otherwise. (I’ve read more of the classics—and most of Shakespeare as an adult—but not so much in high school.)

 

[luvmytoolz]

I had a Polish coworker before I retired. He left Poland when it was still under t Russian domination.

I asked him what was the first thing he did when he landed here. He said he asked where there was a bookstore, and when he got there he bought Lord of the Flies, and he read it that night.

He had read the book in Poland, but as mimeographed sheets stapled together. He didn’t have the whole book, just a couple of chapters at a time which got passed around (and hidden when not being read).

By contrast Lord of the Flies was required reading that I might not have read otherwise. (I’ve read more of the classics—and most of Shakespeare as an adult—but not so much in high school.)

I didn't enjoy the Shakespeare stuff generally as they were a bit of a dry read, kind of like reading original Charles Dickens books printed in the 1800's, but one I did enjoy early on was another mandatory book for a couple years in high school, "One day in the life of Ivan Denosivich", which was a truly great book.

I blame books entirely for why I now have so many interests and hobbies! ;-)

 

[Packard]

I didn't enjoy the Shakespeare stuff generally as they were a bit of a dry read, kind of like reading original Charles Dickens books printed in the 1800's, but one I did enjoy early on was another mandatory book for a couple years in high school, "One day in the life of Ivan Denosivich", which was a truly great book.

I blame books entirely for why I now have so many interests and hobbies! ;-)

I struggled to read Moby Dick—tried 4 times.

It is a big book—over 200,000 words (the average novel is 70,000 to 100,00 words). In the print edition, it is generally printed with smaller than usual type, wider than usual lines, and smaller than usual spacing between lines (leading).

When I tried to read it on a tablet, I set the line width, line spacing and type size to my normal parameters and I had no problem finishing (and enjoying) the novel). The same proved to be true for Don Quixote which has over 400,000 words.

The key ingredient in typography that facilitates speed and easy of reading is the ability to read to the end of a line and then quickly scan back to the beginning of the next line. Shorter line lengths and wider leading are the answer, but add cost to the print edition. For electronic editions, that is not a cost—and offers a significant advantage to reading on a tablet.

 

[leakyroof]

Many years ago, before digital books, my book shelf was getting overwhelmed. I decided to gift some of my popular fiction.

For every 5 books I gave away, I was gifted 10 in response. So the process was futile.

Luckily, my niece, mother and sister were avid readers and they did not feel obligated to gift me in return (and some of the books I got in return were worth my time and got read).

After that, I gave away one book at a time with instructions, “When you are done reading it give it to someone with these same instructions. Whatever you do, do not return it to me.”

That worked better. They did not feel guilty if they gave the book away and none came back to me.

AND THIS ^^^^^ is how many of the Outdoor Book Boxes work around us here in our part of Chicago. Books flow to and from the boxes. My wife comments on how a book will make the rounds from box to box to box. Some people also dump books that no one apparently wants to read in a box, and they're there for months unless someone else does some 'Editing" and removes the book to make space for some OTHER book....We saved a book box that was in front of a house being demolished, the Contractor actually posted a sign on the box for someone to save it since they knew it would be trashed otherwise. So, I dug up the 4 x 4 post after removing the box from the post- took the whole affair home and did some rebuilding on it. New coats of paint, new door made of MDO, with fresh plexi-glass, and now it sits in front of our house.

 

[peter halle]

My household income now is book based, and I am not the author. Most of the income is thru ebooks and in particular Amazon's KDP and in particular Kindle Unlimited subscriptions. I myself can't stand to read on a tablet of any kind, but consume 2 to 4 books a week in paper format.

When we moved into the current house We brought with us 3 bookcases that I had removed from a home 15 years ago. They had been made on site by some carpenter but the whipped cream on top were the shelves which were solid white oak. Originally they had been in an attorney's home and had to handle the weight of numerous law books.

I ended up building them into her office and adding additional white oak shelves. During the Covid timeframe the materials for the additional 5 or so shelves was in excess of $300. When we eventually move I'll stick a note on the shelves letting the purchaser know about the value in the shelves. Unfortunately they are now full and I am starting to go back thru my favorites for the umpteenth time.

Peter

 

[Packard]

What I like about e-books is that I can log onto the Libby app at anytime and borrow an ebook. I just checked and there are 30,000+ titles available now, and probably a similar number out on loan. And I don’t have to remember to return the book. I can return it early, or just forget about it and the app will claw it back when the loan period is over.

And I can hold my reader in one hand no matter how large the book.

There are other advantages, but those are the ones that prised me away from printed books.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

While I am hardly "unread", I'm not a fiction reader at all, can't stand them. I never developed a taste for it, absolutely hated English in school. My attitude, at that time, was "I already speak, spell, and read it just fine. Why do I need a class for it?" As a life-long autodidact, I'll figure it out. I'm far more likely to read a service manual, encyclopedia (more recently the internet) while absorbing/retaining far more than most.

As I see it, being able to read, is more than figuring out words. I remember kids who could "read" an entire sentence or paragraph, (out loud) and have no clue what they just said or what it means.