Goodbye to the bookshop?

(image from here)

According to new figures from the Booksellers Association, the number of bookshops in the UK has fallen by 20 percent since 2006 and is still dropping. Apparently three of the main reasons why are rates, parking and planning. Unsurprisingly a fourth is the massive growth of e-books.

I’m a huge fan of books. I own thousands, buy more every month, regularly re-read my favourites and love the written word in every sense. Hell, I’m even trying to write one of my own (a supernatural thriller, if you’re interested).

I’ve also just bought a Kindle – I delayed doing so until now mainly because I’m afraid how much I might spend on books when I can just download them instantaneously. My Amazon bill is already one of my larger monthly expenses.

But much as I already love my Kindle, it isn’t a bookshop. I loathe shopping, yet they’re the only shops I’m willing to spend any time in, browsing and flicking through the pages to see if you like the way the author writes. You just can’t do that on Amazon – and you especially can’t check the endings (yes, I’m one of those odd people who reads the ending first and then decides whether or not to buy).

So here’s hoping that the bookshop finds a way to survive the onslaught of e-tail technology that’s already swamped DVD and record shops. I’d love to say I know how they can do it, but I’m afraid for now it will just have to be fond, wistful optimism on my part. You know, the sort of feeling you get from reading a good book.