By Color and Number

I just found out they’re closing the Books A Million in Blacksburg :( If I had funds (and a bigger bookshelf) I would go buy lots of books to try to stop it. It will be a sad day when Amazon is our only bookstore :(

fishingboatproceeds:

I’m concerned about the future of books and bookstores, but I’m even more concerned about the 14,000 people who lost their jobs in the liquidation of Borders. Thomas Jefferson said he couldn’t live without books, but we really can’t live without jobs.

(And look, I’m a capitalist: I understand that an efficient economy creates jobs where they’re needed and removes them where they aren’t. I get that we can’t pay people to do work that doesn’t add value. But I think bookstores do add value, and I hope to convince lots of other people that I’m right. That’s something Hank and I are thinking about a lot as we plan for The Fault in Our Stars tour. We want to find ways to reward bookstores for all the value they bring to our lives, while still embracing the truth that the Internet is a great place to find and buy books.)