The Death of Bookstores

"It's a difficult time for bookstores. Online booksellers offer seductively low prices and the convenience of ordering from home. eBooks are poised to change the business of publishing as we know it, allowing readers to bypass printed material altogether. There are news stories almost every day telling us about another independent bookstore that has shut down, a casualty of the changing book business."
- 9 of the most amazing bookstores in the world, Huffington Post, Caroline Eisenmann

If you can, I recommend reading through the list of 9 bookstores that are breathtaking. Unfortunately I've never went to any, but I hope that will change. This article does bring up a good point though: like newspapers, there's the death of bookstores.
It's no surprise that bookstores, especially indie bookstores, are going out of business. With all the enticing deals from Amazon, the 30% off coupons from Borders and the digital books, bookstores simply cannot keep up for the demand of cheaper books. Yes, I wouldn't think twice as to which retailer I should buy from: $8 at Amazon or $16 at Barnes & Noble. It would obviously be Amazon.
However, I do try to support physical bookstores by frequently inhabiting a local Borders bookstore. I love lounging around the cafe area, drinking my hazelnut coffee while reading a book. Honestly, the employees must be sick of me.
As far as I know, there aren't any independent bookstores in the area; disheartening, but not surprising. If I ever do visit Paris it will be my priority to visit Shakespeare and Co., which is pictured on the top.

"This legendary English language bookstore has served as a haunt for literary greats such as Hemingway and Fitzgerald. The store is generously stocked with both used and new books, and features an eclectic collection of not for sale books that can be enjoyed in the reading room upstairs. Often flooded with tourists, the bookstore still serves as go to spot for readers and writers alike"
- Huffington Post

To be surrounded by books; to smell the crisp pages of used and old books; and to see readers like me look around in complete awe...I want to be there.