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<blockquote data-quote="Wofano Wotanto" data-source="post: 9317379" data-attributes="member: 7044704">Yeah, that's far enough back that the changes weren't really taking off yet.&nbsp; Speaking anecdotally, I'd say B&amp;N has become noticeably less of an actual book store in the last ten years.&nbsp; Not entirely a bad thing unless you were looking to browse books, and they've certainly grown in some ways.&nbsp; The local one now stocks more graphic novels and manga than even the largest of the dedicated comic shops in the area, for ex.&nbsp; But the old days of being able to reliably find something new to read with every visit seem to have passed, and it's particularly difficult to start a new series on impulse due to their refusal to make any effort to stock the first book or two in what series they do carry.&nbsp; And the publishing industry is pushing hard toward everything being a series these days, at least in fiction - the number of standalone novels these days feels like it's half what it was 30-40 years ago.Yes, you can still order books through B&amp;N easily enough and their warehouse stock seems decent enough - but if you have to special order a book rather than grab it from the shelf, why do I want to do that instead of buying online, saving taxes, gas, time and frustration?&nbsp; The managers didn't have an answer for that question even twenty years ago, and they don't now.I sincerely hope things are better elsewhere, but I'm afraid that may not be the case.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Wofano Wotanto, post: 9317379, member: 7044704"] Yeah, that's far enough back that the changes weren't really taking off yet. Speaking anecdotally, I'd say B&N has become noticeably less of an actual book store in the last ten years. Not entirely a bad thing unless you were looking to browse books, and they've certainly grown in some ways. The local one now stocks more graphic novels and manga than even the largest of the dedicated comic shops in the area, for ex. But the old days of being able to reliably find something new to read with every visit seem to have passed, and it's particularly difficult to start a new series on impulse due to their refusal to make any effort to stock the first book or two in what series they do carry. And the publishing industry is pushing hard toward everything being a series these days, at least in fiction - the number of standalone novels these days feels like it's half what it was 30-40 years ago. Yes, you can still order books through B&N easily enough and their warehouse stock seems decent enough - but if you have to special order a book rather than grab it from the shelf, why do I want to do that instead of buying online, saving taxes, gas, time and frustration? The managers didn't have an answer for that question even twenty years ago, and they don't now. I sincerely hope things are better elsewhere, but I'm afraid that may not be the case. [/QUOTE]

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