For the first time in a _very_ long time I was in a B&N today. It was a major branch, attached to the Wellington Green mall in Wellington Florida, Wellington being Very Horsey Country just outside of West Palm Beach. Wellington Green is, ah, ?upscale?. The B&N isquite large.

So I head over to the SF section... hey, where?s the SF section? There used
to be an _extensive_ SF section. Now... the SF section is a shrunken remnant. The Horror section is bigger, the Fantasy section is more than twice the
size, the Manga section is double the size, and even the Graphic Novels section is bigger. There was, for example, exactly one David Weber book in stock. Meanwhile, there?s a nice new boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire
over in Fantasy. (For $108...) The complete works of Joe Abercrombie are also available.

I guess that I won?t be buying much SF from B&N...


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 6/4/2026 12:14 PM, WolfFan wrote:

For the first time in a _very_ long time I was in a B&N today. It was a major branch, attached to the Wellington Green mall in Wellington Florida, Wellington being Very Horsey Country just outside of West Palm Beach. Wellington Green is, ah, ?upscale?. The B&N isquite large.

So I head over to the SF section... hey, where?s the SF section? There used to be an _extensive_ SF section. Now... the SF section is a shrunken remnant. The Horror section is bigger, the Fantasy section is more than twice the size, the Manga section is double the size, and even the Graphic Novels section is bigger. There was, for example, exactly one David Weber book in stock. Meanwhile, there?s a nice new boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire
over in Fantasy. (For $108...) The complete works of Joe Abercrombie are also available.

I guess that I won?t be buying much SF from B&N...

I gave up on B&N a while back. The one store in my county went out of business. After a couple years B&N opened a new store (in the same mall
as the first one) which is 1/2 to 1/3 the size of the previous one. I
also ran into the shrunken genre stock with the new one and just haven't bothered to go back.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 6/4/26 17:40, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

On 6/4/2026 12:14 PM, WolfFan wrote:

For the first time in a _very_ long time I was in a B&N today. It was
a major
branch, attached to the Wellington Green mall in Wellington Florida,
Wellington being Very Horsey Country just outside of West Palm Beach.
Wellington Green is, ah, ?upscale?. The B&N isquite large.

So I head over to the SF section... hey, where?s the SF section? There
used
to be an _extensive_ SF section. Now... the SF section is a shrunken
remnant.
The Horror section is bigger, the Fantasy section is more than twice the
size, the Manga section is double the size, and even the Graphic Novels
section is bigger. There was, for example, exactly one David Weber
book in
stock. Meanwhile, there?s a nice new boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire
over in Fantasy. (For $108...) The complete works of Joe Abercrombie
are also
available.

I guess that I won?t be buying much SF from B&N...

I gave up on B&N a while back.ÿ The one store in my county went out of business.ÿ After a couple years B&N opened a new store (in the same mall
as the first one) which is 1/2 to 1/3 the size of the previous one.ÿ I
also ran into the shrunken genre stock with the new one and just haven't bothered to go back.

Go back to check on the SF stock by all means but
when you see a book you can read, SF preferably, then you
will be a legitimate customer who can complain of the
shortfalls in their stocking.

Or maybe you have another 'brick and mortar' book
retailer in you neighborhood.

bliss- who will if I live long enough be able to
afford to buy something from a book store in the next
5 years.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 6/4/2026 2:14 PM, WolfFan wrote:

For the first time in a _very_ long time I was in a B&N today. It was a major branch, attached to the Wellington Green mall in Wellington Florida, Wellington being Very Horsey Country just outside of West Palm Beach. Wellington Green is, ah, ?upscale?. The B&N isquite large.

So I head over to the SF section... hey, where?s the SF section? There used to be an _extensive_ SF section. Now... the SF section is a shrunken remnant. The Horror section is bigger, the Fantasy section is more than twice the size, the Manga section is double the size, and even the Graphic Novels section is bigger. There was, for example, exactly one David Weber book in stock. Meanwhile, there?s a nice new boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire
over in Fantasy. (For $108...) The complete works of Joe Abercrombie are also available.

I guess that I won?t be buying much SF from B&N...

B&N never was a good scifi store. They were more into fantasy. And B&N bought the 10% off store that I cannot remember the name of in 1995 ???,
and shut them down. They had a great scifi selection.

I miss B. Daltons. Now there was a great store.

Lynn


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 6/4/26 19:59, Lynn McGuire wrote:

On 6/4/2026 2:14 PM, WolfFan wrote:

For the first time in a _very_ long time I was in a B&N today. It was
a major
branch, attached to the Wellington Green mall in Wellington Florida,
Wellington being Very Horsey Country just outside of West Palm Beach.
Wellington Green is, ah, ?upscale?. The B&N isquite large.

So I head over to the SF section... hey, where?s the SF section? There
used
to be an _extensive_ SF section. Now... the SF section is a shrunken
remnant.
The Horror section is bigger, the Fantasy section is more than twice the
size, the Manga section is double the size, and even the Graphic Novels
section is bigger. There was, for example, exactly one David Weber
book in
stock. Meanwhile, there?s a nice new boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire
over in Fantasy. (For $108...) The complete works of Joe Abercrombie
are also
available.

I guess that I won?t be buying much SF from B&N...

B&N never was a good scifi store.ÿ They were more into fantasy.ÿ And B&N bought the 10% off store that I cannot remember the name of in 1995 ???,
and shut them down.ÿ They had a great scifi selection.

I miss B. Daltons.ÿ Now there was a great store.

Lynn

Borders was a great store for manga. I was deep in the manga
while they were open. I could still walk to the store on Powell st.above
Post St. When they closed a bit of light went out of my life.

Then the Japan Video in Nihon Machi went out of business and
I could no long rent a DVD to watch the shows. I used to rent and
watch X 2 then write my notes. Then I had no reason to walk that
route and home again.

Capitalism of course is to blame because the rent on a piece
of Real Estate is so much more than the cost of an online presence.
I did it and so did other people buying regular books and manga from
online stores that catered to us. I used to have a SF store 3
blocks from where i lived with a knowledgeable owner and writers
dropping in. Fritz Leiber lived in this neighborhood and died here
as well. I even got a art book about a samurai rabbit there long
before I got seriously into anime and manga.

bliss - if I did not have to eat and excrete I would live
in books.


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Verily, in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>, did lynnmcguire5
@gmail.com deliver unto us this message:

I miss B. Daltons. Now there was a great store.

I liked B. Dalton, too. Ours was still making money when they closed it.
It was too small to have a lounge area, just books books books
everywhere, with shelves to the ceiling and ladders to reach them.

I miss bookstores, but I also like the convenience of ebooks, so I guess
I understand.

--
The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
United States of America - North America - Earth
Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 2026-06-05, BobbieSellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextremeinvalid.com> wrote:

Capitalism of course is to blame

Capitalism is an attempted explanation of human
behavior "at scale", not some causative force.
It has no "will", and thus cannot be blamed -
except by incredibly stupid individuals, of
course.

--
v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
| alt.troll.adam-h-kerman: proof that the |
| internet sometimes gets something right | ^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 2026-06-05, The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:

Verily, in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>, did lynnmcguire5 @gmail.com deliver unto us this message:

I miss B. Daltons. Now there was a great store.

I liked B. Dalton, too. Ours was still making
money when they closed it. It was too small
to have a lounge area, just books books books
everywhere, with shelves to the ceiling and
ladders to reach them.

I miss bookstores, but I also like the
convenience of ebooks, so I guess I understand.

There's no bigger virtual bookstore section these
days than TDS-inspired speculative fiction! :-)

--
v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
| alt.troll.adam-h-kerman: proof that the |
| internet sometimes gets something right | ^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Jun 4, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
(in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>):

On 6/4/2026 2:14 PM, WolfFan wrote:

For the first time in a _very_ long time I was in a B&N today. It was a major
branch, attached to the Wellington Green mall in Wellington Florida, Wellington being Very Horsey Country just outside of West Palm Beach. Wellington Green is, ah, ?upscale?. The B&N isquite large.

So I head over to the SF section... hey, where?s the SF section? There
used
to be an _extensive_ SF section. Now... the SF section is a shrunken remnant.
The Horror section is bigger, the Fantasy section is more than twice the size, the Manga section is double the size, and even the Graphic Novels section is bigger. There was, for example, exactly one David Weber book in stock. Meanwhile, there?s a nice new boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire over in Fantasy. (For $108...) The complete works of Joe Abercrombie are also
available.

I guess that I won?t be buying much SF from B&N...

B&N never was a good scifi store. They were more into fantasy. And B&N
bought the 10% off store that I cannot remember the name of in 1995 ???,
and shut them down. They had a great scifi selection.

I miss B. Daltons. Now there was a great store.

Lynn

B&N used to, I repeat, USED TO, have ebook reader apps for Mac, older (pre
Win 8) Windows, and newer (Win 8 and newer) Windows. All dead. their apps for Androidand iOS/iPadOS still live, though I don?t know for how long;
they?re pushing Nook for Web, hard.

They used to bundle a few items in with Nook for Mac and the older Nook for Windows; I could reliably crash both using one of the bundled items. I say again, I could crash the apps using stuff they bundled with it. This bug was not fixed when they dropped support.

Amazingly, Apple, Amazon, and others manage (Amazon discontinued the old Kindle for Mac and Kindle for Windows in favor of new apps available only
from the App Store and the Microsoft Store; the new apps stink up the place, but the old appas still work, so I don?t care. The old Nook apps don?t
work anymore.) to have working ebook apps on multiple platforms. B&N has problems. I rarely buy paper books any more; that?s one reason why it had
been a while since I?d been in that B&N. I am NOT going to use my web
browser instead of a proper ebook reading app, not unless I don?t have a choice. (For one thing, the Apple and Amazon apps will sync across platforms, so that I can read on a large display from a computer, Mac or Windows, on a smaller display on an iPad and on a small display on an iPhone and just pick up where I?d left on a different device. The web apps that I?ve tried
don?t do that, and I can?t be arsed to pay B&N to get a Nook book and try their web app. And. I?m NOT buying a Nook device.) Even if B&N had a good selection of SF I probably wouldn?t be buying much from them.

One wonders what management at B&N is smoking.


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 6/7/2026 3:19 PM, WolfFan wrote:

On Jun 4, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
(in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>):

On 6/4/2026 2:14 PM, WolfFan wrote:

For the first time in a _very_ long time I was in a B&N today. It was a
major
branch, attached to the Wellington Green mall in Wellington Florida,
Wellington being Very Horsey Country just outside of West Palm Beach.
Wellington Green is, ah, ?upscale?. The B&N isquite large.

So I head over to the SF section... hey, where?s the SF section? There
used
to be an _extensive_ SF section. Now... the SF section is a shrunken
remnant.
The Horror section is bigger, the Fantasy section is more than twice the >>> size, the Manga section is double the size, and even the Graphic Novels
section is bigger. There was, for example, exactly one David Weber book in >>> stock. Meanwhile, there?s a nice new boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire >>> over in Fantasy. (For $108...) The complete works of Joe Abercrombie are >>> also
available.

I guess that I won?t be buying much SF from B&N...

B&N never was a good scifi store. They were more into fantasy. And B&N
bought the 10% off store that I cannot remember the name of in 1995 ???,
and shut them down. They had a great scifi selection.

I miss B. Daltons. Now there was a great store.

Lynn

B&N used to, I repeat, USED TO, have ebook reader apps for Mac, older (pre Win 8) Windows, and newer (Win 8 and newer) Windows. All dead. their apps for Androidand iOS/iPadOS still live, though I don?t know for how long;
they?re pushing Nook for Web, hard.

They used to bundle a few items in with Nook for Mac and the older Nook for Windows; I could reliably crash both using one of the bundled items. I say again, I could crash the apps using stuff they bundled with it. This bug was not fixed when they dropped support.

Amazingly, Apple, Amazon, and others manage (Amazon discontinued the old Kindle for Mac and Kindle for Windows in favor of new apps available only from the App Store and the Microsoft Store; the new apps stink up the place, but the old appas still work, so I don?t care. The old Nook apps don?t
work anymore.) to have working ebook apps on multiple platforms. B&N has problems. I rarely buy paper books any more; that?s one reason why it had been a while since I?d been in that B&N. I am NOT going to use my web
browser instead of a proper ebook reading app, not unless I don?t have a choice. (For one thing, the Apple and Amazon apps will sync across platforms, so that I can read on a large display from a computer, Mac or Windows, on a smaller display on an iPad and on a small display on an iPhone and just pick up where I?d left on a different device. The web apps that I?ve tried
don?t do that, and I can?t be arsed to pay B&N to get a Nook book and try their web app. And. I?m NOT buying a Nook device.) Even if B&N had a good selection of SF I probably wouldn?t be buying much from them.

One wonders what management at B&N is smoking.

One of my authors is claiming 45% ebook sales including Kindle Unlimited
and 55% sales of dead tree POD (print on demand) books.

Lynn


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.15
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)