Wow, this is a great question! I prefer brick and mortar stores, so I rarely buy books online. I find myself in bookstores more these days, but it does seem like reading has taken a backseat to other leisure activities for a lot of people.

Is there an independent bookseller handling sales at City Lit Festival?

I think that, despite the rise of the Amazonian Queen, reports of the demise of the bookstore and of books is greatly exagerrated. We ought to think of the positive effects of moving to e-literature and technical strategies for selling books. A whole new audience is now engaged with reading, bookshops have had to become more customer-focused, readers are finding different ways of communicating about books. In summation, I think these new developments will change our habits but they won't turn us off books. I mean, when the car was invented we didn't stop riding horses, did we? We have fewer saddleries etc and fewer opportunities to ride horses but they are still around. Bookshops need to join the 21C or remain in the paddock.

Tony, the festival includes a marketplace for authors, organizations, journals and independent presses to sell materials. I'm not sure how other indies would fit in, so I'll forward your email to Gregg Wilhelm of the CityLit Project; he'll have the answer.

Here's the answer from Gregg: CityLit Project partners with Barnes & Noble Power Plant to handle sales at the festival (many of the publishers with authors appearing require a bookstore that reports sales to the New York Times).

My local book stores always seemed to be packed with people browsing. We also have a huge new library being built. There's an active BookCrossing membership and we meet once a month. Book blogs are popping up all over the place. I think book culture is healthier than naysayers think.

Personally I see these tough economic times bringing people back around to the basics: like reading again. Folks are really tired of the lack of interesting TV, and they are often strapped for cash...so for ex. I read that Library visits have increased in my area. I am in a Book Club and almost everyone I am close friends with Reads on a regular basis.

I believe our Book Culture is thriving!

I find that if you take a copy of The Da Vinci Code, pour a little yoghurt on it and then place it somewhere warm for a week or two, you get an excellent book culture.

I think what bothers me about all these changes in culture is not so much the ability to read things on screens rather than paper, but the marketing involved. Book readers are now more than ever primarily consumers. I don't like this being such a primary role. I do realize it has ever been thus. But that may be why I get annoyed by tie-ins or book covers that are obviously marketed to my niche. I have started reading outside of that niche more and more just because it becomes more and more limiting.

I refused to see the movie Jane Austen Book Club because it felt too marketed-to-me. ... I'd rather be a person than a consumer.

The culture is certainly dwindling, but not to the extent that some believe. And we bookworms are a hardy bunch of folks, LOL. And we tend to spawn more of the same. Obviously, as technology increases, the traditional ways of doing things will decrease. That being said, our culture will survive, because nothing can replace the feeling of walking into a bookstore (the smell of books, yay) and knowing that you get to spend the rest of the day browsing...

I subscribe to a booksellers/librarians listserve that drops a daily email newsletter in my inbox, and for most of this year and last, there has been news of bookstore closures in every issue. Some of that can be due to the recession and the horrible economy, certainly, but I also think it is due to a shift in the number of readers out there, and their ability to purchase the books they'd like to read.

I notice, as a library volunteer, that my local library is busier than it has ever been, even on Sundays, and the librarians tell me that holds on books and other media are way up. Computer use is also at a premium, and there are more people signing up to reserve a computer for job searches and homework, among other things.

I am also a member of a library book group, and our ranks have swollen from 9 people to 15 people in the past 8 months. There are three other book groups at my library, one morning group, one mens book group and one teen book group, all of which have good attendance.
This tells me that books are not going the way of the dinosaur anytime soon. I think ebooks and Kindle readers are always going to have reading material downloaded onto their devices, but from what I hear from some of these folks, they still value buying and reading actual printed books.

Personally, I find it difficult to read on a computer screen for any length of time. It hurts my eyes and makes my bum go numb. For me, there is no substitute for just hunkering down in a soft chair or bed with a warm blanket, a mug of tea and a good book. I've been doing that for 44 years and I plan on doing it until I pass on.

I used to be able to buy at least 50 books or so a year, of the hundreds I read, but now that jobs for journalists are in scarce supply, I'm afraid I have to assuage my book buying lust with garage sales, thrift stores and second hand book shops. When I can't live without a new title, I call my favorite independent bookstore (Island Books on Mercer Island, Washington).

I think that the literature culture is thriving, though I'm afraid the longing for a bound book to be held in hand, is waning. The book culture, as in any culture has had to adapt to the ever changing society...what's the old adage? The only constant is change...

Personally I'm old fashioned in much of my hobbies and there's something so enjoyable for me in turning page after page, hearing the spine of a soft cover cracking as it bends in my hands. I write notes and thoughts in the margins and will read and reread books until they fall to pieces. There will always be a small group of people that will always love all things traditional. Because of this, I don't believe that the book culture is in for a total apocolypse per se, just a restructuring.

The book culture is alive and well. It's just different. And I think that Read Street and other reading blogs have a lot to do with preserving it. Look what happened this past weekend when the Amazon "glitch" (or whatever it was) occurred, and the blogosphere went wild. And it was a holiday weekend.

We all hate to hear about another independent bookstore closing. But it's almost like a Yogi-ism. Everybody wants to have an independent bookstore in the neighborhood, but nobody wants to buy there! It's tricky, because these stores can never compete on price, but they can (and do) compete on service. And guess what? Most of the time the people who work there actually read books!

I'm a big fan of ebooks and have written here before about how much I love the Kindle 2, which I've made great use of since I got it in February. But yesterday I started reading a hardcover copy of "Life Sentences," Laura Lippman's latest (and it's wonderful by the way). I won it on Read Street; thank you, Dave. I can't tell you how fantastic it feels to have a "real" book in my hands. I've even found myself stroking the pages. Good grief. I must need book therapy or something.........

Good luck with the panel on Saturday, Dave. Knock 'em dead.

Gail, thanks. the comments from you and other Read Streeters will be a big help. I'm glad JC, DeAnn and others see life in the book culture.
p.s. I really liked your comparison to a Yogi Berra quote.

Nice to hear about the Baltimore activities promoting literacy, and your own role in this!

I called the Main Library, Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, Toledo, Ohio to find out what their circulation is like these days. I spoke to Lynn who is in the juvenile/teen department, and she gave me these figures from their library records.

Overall in the library system, there was an INCREASE in circulation of library materials from March 2008 to March 2009. Adult books, 11 percent increase. Juvenile/teen materials went up 12 percent. Average, 11 percent increase.

Lynn also told me that in the last few months, the library has seen a big increase in materials in circulation. They take this to mean that fewer people are buying books. It could also be that people are turning to the library's free materials rather than spending on movies, games, etc

Don't know if this increase in library patronage is unique to this part of the country or the state. It would be interesting to research.

I find the libraries in my area still thriving. They are always busy when I pop in and I like to see that especially the young kids. Teach them young to love books and reading.

However, the online bookstores do seem to be taking over, mainly because they can offer books so cheap. I admit to buying online but I also buy in store when I'm there.

For me, it will always be books----the paper kind. I have no interest in a Kindle reader or e-books. I love the feel of the book in my hand and the ability to pick up a brand new book and inhale the scent and run my hand over the new pages. Nothing can beat that and as you said-we need somewhere for the bookmarks!

Great post Dave!

think book culture is going to change tremendously. First of all, huge amounts of public domain books are suddenly available for free to read on either a computer or a smart phone. This will drive the price of books and ebooks down and make the market much more competitive.

Also, authors are giving books away for free as promotional items to sell their new books. This means there is a much greater variety of choice that is readily available at little or no cost.

Combine this with the new licenses like creative commons which allows a reader to read a book for free but not sell it and you have much greater access to books.

There are even free libraries of sample books put out by major entertainment presses. There is the Baen Free Library of science fiction on the web and Harlequin romance also has lots of free material. Paulo Coelho has put all his books up for free on the internet to read because he says it has driven his paper book sales. Cory Doctorow has said something very similar. Cory made his fortune by giving away his books for free online and then selling the paper copies.

There is going to be an explosion in the availability of literature. It is not just free which is changing things, it is self publishing like Authorhouse and Lulu.com which have distribution channels like Amazon for self published books. It costs not that much to self publish $500 to have a completed work up. This means there will be an explosion in the self publishing market.

Traditional books will face some serious challenges from the online world because there will suddenly be so much more available in a greater variety of formats. The material may not be good, but it is expansive.

Just for the record regarding the bookseller for City Lit. Many independents, including Vertigo Books, also report to the New York Times bestseller list.

Borders is at risk of failing, leaving Amazon and Barnes & Noble as cultural gatekeepers for much of America. Lovers of book culture and literature should be concerned about the dominance of one or two suppliers. Amazon's poor handling of #amazonfail this past weekend should worry all those who value free expression.