Am I the Only One?

Alright, I just have to talk about this.  I read an article today that really got my mind racing.  To be fair, the article was published on a site that promotes ebooks; however, it is based on some very disconcerting news that came out recently.

We all know that the economy here in America is....well, okay it sucks.   Given that, when Barnes and Noble released their holiday shopping report on earnings, disappointment was almost expected.  After reading the article and getting decidedly irked, yes I said irked, I read some of the reader comments.  The general consensus is that B&N is headed down the tubes.  Can you believe that!?  Now, let's be honest, most of this is probably hype and rumor.  Just because their earnings aren't that strong, and they compete with Amazon, and everyone looks at books at their stores but buys online, doesn't mean they are going out of business tomorrow....but it isn't looking real promising.  But really!  A world without its largest book retailer?  Say it ain't so!  Okay, I might be getting ahead of myself, but it is upsetting.  Not being able to go into the store, grab a cup of coffee, and roam through rows upon rows of books, finding something you like, ruffling through the pages, and picking up a few new reads?  Craziness.

Anybody else find that deeply troubling?  I hope so.  I'm part of that rumored 'young technological generation' and I can't stand buying shit online.  That's right--can't stand it!  You never know what you are going to get and they charge you an arm and a leg to ship it.  The thought of getting all my books online, or on my Kindle, isn't really appealing to me.

Admittedly, I do have other concerns, besides having to deal with Fed-Ex and UPS more often....as a writer who will hopefully see publication soon, not having Barnes and Noble essentially makes getting published in print form entirely worthless.  There would have to be a whole lot of independent bookstores to sell the volume of books that B&N does.  As a reader and writer, I don't want to see print die, but it increasingly seems like it is destined to dwindle and fade away over the years.

Am I the only one who doesn't want to see that happen?