tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post2169625421456542488..comments2023-08-14T11:44:27.299-04:00Comments on Jeremiah's<br> Vanishing New York: Atlantic Book ShopJeremiah Mosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11791516443125872364noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-70412038072665206122011-05-08T08:25:30.999-04:002011-05-08T08:25:30.999-04:00The death of printed books and real bookstores is ...The death of printed books and real bookstores is a terrible thing on balance, but what makes you think this is exclusively a US thing. (As pathetic and stupid as the US is.) Been to South Korea lately? EVERY tyro under the age of 35 (and many over that age) have a smartphone permanently welded to one of their limbs and hence take it anywhere and everywhere. No setting is sacred. This is the world-historic triumph of inane info-capitalism, folks. All people and places that can afford it (and many that can't) are eagerly integrating into it...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-27850404627459285732011-05-07T00:16:02.487-04:002011-05-07T00:16:02.487-04:00Very sorry to read this (but like Elizabeth, also ...Very sorry to read this (but like Elizabeth, also mindful of the chance to buy more books than I have room for at a steep discount).<br /><br />As for the why: is it because we're reading books electronically now, or because we're just reading books less frequently?Briannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-57771275201524392302011-05-05T19:45:44.075-04:002011-05-05T19:45:44.075-04:00just added this update: Gothamist followed up on t...just added this update: Gothamist followed up on this story and got word to Marty Markowitz who said, "It’s unfortunate any time Brooklyn—the literary epicenter of New York City and home to the renowned Brooklyn Book Festival—loses one of its indie book stores or any of its ‘mom and pop’ businesses." They are open to discussing the possibility of assisting Atlantic Books.Jeremiah Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11791516443125872364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-34661445687865497072011-05-05T18:59:47.604-04:002011-05-05T18:59:47.604-04:00I loved this bookstore, and was in there all the t...I loved this bookstore, and was in there all the time. So sad, dang it.Leahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14061893047279652658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-40842741578541583462011-05-05T17:19:16.353-04:002011-05-05T17:19:16.353-04:00#1 the brooklyn "book district" will mov...#1 the brooklyn "book district" will move round. as rents get higher there are other areas. people will move as well. maybe the chinese area. #2) landlords prefer a "black hole" to bookstore? #3) electronic devices are not a substitute for paper books. i never finish what i begin reading on the computer as its draining, hard o the eyes & i hate fxxcing electronic devices. we still have strand books. & we can order on the internet. but i prefer to see the book for real. as i have a better sense of what i am buying. the USA is now the third world. NYC is 3rd world & those who go to sports bars/mals. why do you need book stores?lRSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-9667924677950349812011-05-05T13:27:32.930-04:002011-05-05T13:27:32.930-04:00There were actually four independent bookstores ne...There were actually four independent bookstores nearby, Atlantic Books on Atlantic Avenue, plus two bookstores on Smith Street that had relocated there at different times from Montague Street, after being forced out of Brooklyn Heights by rising rents. The fourth is Bookcourt on Court Street. There was speculation that this part of Brooklyn would become a new destination for booklovers.<br /><br />Bookcourt at least is still going strong, and so is Community Books on Smith Street, though in the latter case it has to be said that the store itself has become so disorganized as to be almost unusable. The other two stores have closed this year. Three of the four were essentially relocations from higher rent parts of the city.<br /><br />I think this is more evidence that no, the "old" New York will not be preserved in brownstone Brooklyn, since the same high rents that have been choking the life out of Manhattan are just spreading there.<br /><br />But the issue here could just be the death of the bookstore in general, in the future everyone will buy books online, maybe downloaded to an electronic device. I think this is a case of technology marching backwards. The printed book sold in a physical store was a great technology, reasonably cheap, portable, comfortable to read, and you could go to the store to browse. There was no real reason to improve it. The download-books-onto-an-electronic device is much better for storage, almost as portable (though not as robust), and OK on cheapness and being easy to read. But there is no ability to browse and all your purchases get tracked, which I think outweighs these factors.Ednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-80602194329226798202011-05-05T12:53:22.602-04:002011-05-05T12:53:22.602-04:00bookstores and record shops...a thing of the past....bookstores and record shops...a thing of the past.<br /><br />thanks, iTunes.Bowery Boogiehttp://www.boweryboogie.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-45307670735926132112011-05-05T12:03:56.520-04:002011-05-05T12:03:56.520-04:00That last picture is pretty sad. Enjoy reading you...That last picture is pretty sad. Enjoy reading your iPads everyone.Marty Wombacherhttp://www.martyafterdark.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-66543498087053505632011-05-05T10:53:21.324-04:002011-05-05T10:53:21.324-04:00eliz, both feelings are appropriate.eliz, both feelings are appropriate.Jeremiah Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11791516443125872364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-822639962344519242011-05-05T10:46:05.102-04:002011-05-05T10:46:05.102-04:00I hate myself for having two responses to this... ...I hate myself for having two responses to this... one, to grieve the loss of yet another independent used bookstore. And the second response is to perk up and think "Hey! Book sale!" I feel like some kind of carrion bird for going to visit this store for the first time, in its final days.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-683382864156505640.post-80692605092302805752011-05-05T10:05:07.748-04:002011-05-05T10:05:07.748-04:00I saw that last week -- very sad. I live further d...I saw that last week -- very sad. I live further down Atlantic Avenue, and it has been hit HARD this year. Especially past Court Street, there just isn't very much foot traffic.<br /><br />I didn't know the story behind the move. A pox on all of the greedy landlords -- you are ruining this city!Alisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17504673557922103766noreply@blogger.com