Story in the NYT has this catch line behind the title — A legendary bookstore in Berkeley, Calif., closes, another casualty of the shift to e-commerce.
Here is the full article: Serendipity Books, R.I.P.
Here is one paragraph that mentions libraries: The lack of direction was on purpose and in earnest. Mr. Howard wanted people to search for books and find not just what they were looking for but the book next to it, which they might want more if they only realized it existed. “The bookstore is an infinite array of material and knowledge of which you know nothing,” he said. “If you’re focused, you go to the library.”
In the story it says that the store owner died of pancreatic cancer. Connecting the demise of the store to e-commerce or e-books seems like a stretch.
Spend a few minutes to read the article if you can
It’s a loving tribute to the crotchety old store owner and a sincere appreciation of the value of used and antiquarian bookstores, of which Serendipity was one; a perfect name for a store that prided itself on hoping that people would find not only the book they were looking for, but also the one shelved next to it.
This is the internet!
I don’t have time to READ things, I just complain about them!