How does one remake the bookstore in an online world? Some would say look to Amazon and other booksellers who are using technology to create a new experience especially through the use of ereaders. In fact, some may say that they're better. They can make suggestions on what you have bought in the past or allow you to search very easily by keyword to find exactly what you want. There is no one looking to pester you, the reader, in your search for the thrill you are seeking right there, right at that moment. With wireless connectivity, books are even available for download to that ereader.
The cyber world has many attractions. Many that I seek to enjoy especially when my personal time is scarce, and I am forced to be two places at once. Physically at home or work. Virtually, at the bookstore. There is something, however, to be said for taking the time to truly experience the physical nature of a space. Not just visualize it.
The bookstore has always been in some way an oasis for me. It is a place that I walk into and suddenly, I can go anywhere. I leave my thoughts of work and family behind to focus on my particular quest of knowledge for that moment. It is a place where I can solve problems. Even if the problem of the day is to escape for a little while.
Being a career woman and mom leaves little time for "being in the moment." The various roles I play subsume my subconscious to the point I don't know where I truly am. By saying I'm going to the bookstore, I allow myself to escape into my personal dressing room where these daily roles become just that, roles. The bookstore suddenly becomes about me being me.
This transition which a normal bookstore engenders for me is nearly impossible in a virtual bookstore. I have to peruse books on computers or an ereader while at the same time juggling my pda, two children, and yapping shelties. The virtual world does not offer the same physical sense of sanctity that any normal bookstore, including the large chain stores, does.
For many of reading addicts, the traditional bookstore is a part of the reading experience. Reading snippets of different books and viewing the covers of books. Yes, this can be done virtually with some negotiation of the newer technology. However, the virtual experience seems somewhat more controlled and influenced by outside factors. Bookstores allows readers to ponder and to poke around a little without life intruding. You can kindly ignore the store employees in favor of total absorption. Somehow, that does not seem possible with online ads and suggestions. There's no escaping that in the virtual world.
Real bookstores also become a meeting place for different sorts of people. One time, I actually saw a group of people studying supernatural events (i.e. ghost sitings) and how to investigate them. Imagine how one would do that virtually. Or, the time when my six year old son started to voluntarily make book suggestions for a three year old girl he had just met.
In short, the real bookstore is not only a physical way to mentally escape. It is a meeting place for people with ideas and different interests. Where, in fact, different ideas and eccentricities are explored and celebrated. There is no need to fit in because a bookstore is a safe place to stand out. In public, private sort of way. I've yet to see where the virtual bookstore can top that.