Big city left with no bookstore

[quade 4]

Remember when we all saw "You've Got Mail" and lamented the loss of the small bookstore to the corporate giants? Well, that was 1998. 12 years later, the corporate bookstores are folding shop. The closest one to Laredo? 150 miles.

Quote

Big city left with no bookstore
By Ed Lavandera, CNN
January 22, 2010 2:00 p.m. EST

Laredo, Texas (CNN) -- The bookstore was Zhuara Rivera's magical "Neverland." It offered a fairy tale world for 14-year-old Rivera to get lost in stories and words.

But the books are gone. On January 16, Barnes & Noble, which owns B. Dalton, closed the store inside Laredo's Mall del Norte.

That leaves Laredo, Texas, population of 250,000, one of the largest cities in the United States without a bookstore.

The closest bookstore is now 150 miles away, in San Antonio, Texas.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/01/22/laredo.books/

Quote

We beat the drum slowly and played the fife lowly,
And bitterly wept as we bore him along.
For we loved our comrade, so brave, young and handsome,
We all loved our comrade, although he'd done wrong.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[AggieDave 6]

With all the cartel drug violence, criminal street gangs (Latin Kings, MS-13, Sureanos, etc), who has time to read there?

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[micduran 0]

I hope all of the residents have Kindles.

Be patient with the faults of others; they have to be patient with yours.

[MarkM 0]

http://www.laredolibrary.org/

One of the good uses of our tax money.

[IanHarrop 42]

If sales of books in Laredo can't support keeping even one store open, it is a comment on both the residents of Laredo and the times we live in.

"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

[jumpwally 0]

I agree,,,its the residents without a doubt,,,,in the chicago area and suburbs there are plenty and they are packed on the weekends.....

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[JohnMitchell 16]

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If sales of books in Laredo can't support keeping even one store open, it is a comment on both the residents of Laredo and the times we live in.

Agreed, sadly. Despite the torrent of information available on the internet, there's a lot to be said for the slower paced, quiet contemplation of a good book. My favorite current read is "FDR", a biography by Jean Edward Smith.

[BillyVance 34]

Quote

Remember when we all saw "You've Got Mail" and lamented the loss of the small bookstore to the corporate giants? Well, that was 1998. 12 years later, the corporate bookstores are folding shop. The closest one to Laredo? 150 miles.

Quote

Big city left with no bookstore
By Ed Lavandera, CNN
January 22, 2010 2:00 p.m. EST

Laredo, Texas (CNN) -- The bookstore was Zhuara Rivera's magical "Neverland." It offered a fairy tale world for 14-year-old Rivera to get lost in stories and words.

But the books are gone. On January 16, Barnes & Noble, which owns B. Dalton, closed the store inside Laredo's Mall del Norte.

That leaves Laredo, Texas, population of 250,000, one of the largest cities in the United States without a bookstore.

The closest bookstore is now 150 miles away, in San Antonio, Texas.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/01/22/laredo.books/

Quote

We beat the drum slowly and played the fife lowly,
And bitterly wept as we bore him along.
For we loved our comrade, so brave, young and handsome,
We all loved our comrade, although he'd done wrong.

Just a thought here... It would be interesting to find out how many books are sold and shipped online to Laredo from internet book sellers, like Amazon.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[ltdiver 3]

Quote

http://www.laredolibrary.org/

One of the good uses of our tax money.

I was going to post the same thing, but then thought . . . what's to keep a Lorado local from starting up their own store? Why rely on a corporate giant to bring what the city wants?

There could be a grass roots campaign for the local book readers to start a book-swap club that could grow into a used book store . . . then possibly add new books to the menu. This would have more meaning than an outsider supporting them, don't you think?

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[Gene03 0]

Phshaw, reading is way over rated.

It gives you all sorts of crazy ideas.

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

Google "Used books Laredo Tx".

They have a bunch (although some seem to be only for textbooks).

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[ltdiver 3]

To add to my previous post, I also live in a town with no book store. We have a library that publishes in our local paper what -new- books they've purchased each week. They try and stay on top of what's popular for their most frequent patrons. Both fiction and non-fiction.

They are also linked into the other surrounding libraries and will bring in what they might not have in stock. Free of charge.

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[MarkM 0]

Libraries kick ass. I used to read books from them all the time when I was younger. Would go in, check out 3 or 4 at a time and go through them in a week.

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

But the books are gone. On January 16, Barnes & Noble, which owns B. Dalton, closed the store inside Laredo's Mall del Norte. That leaves Laredo, Texas, population of 250,000, one of the largest cities in the United States without a bookstore.

I call "bullshit".

The yellow pages show plenty of book stores:
http://www.yellowpages.com/Laredo-TX/Book-Stores?page=1&search_terms=book-store

You don't have to be a national chain to be a book store.

[quade 4]

Quote

The yellow pages show plenty of book stores:
http://www.yellowpages.com/Laredo-TX/Book-Stores?page=1&search_terms=book-store

You don't have to be a national chain to be a book store.

Did you actually look at that list?

I especially like "El Shaddai Christian Book Store". Gotta love homophones and I really like it when it works more than one way.

The Shady Christian Book Store
The Shoddy Christian Book Store

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[stitch 0]

Surely they have an Adult Bookstore.

"No cookies for you"- GFD
"I don't think I like the sound of that" ~ MB65
Don't be a "Racer Hater"

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

Did you actually look at that list?
I especially like "El Shaddai Christian Book Store".

What's your point? Yes, there were a lot of Christian book stores. And also a lot of what looked like regular book stores too. I'm sure the good folks of Laredo can still find or order what they want. And I'm also sure that if there is enough need, that the miracle of capitalism will step in to fill that need.