Books-a-Million Only Major Bookstore Left in Gainesville

As I write this, I am sitting here in one of Gainesville's two Books-a-Million bookstores, the one on NW 13th Street (US 441).  I don't come over here often anymore, although in the late 1990s and early 2000s I was almost a daily customer...chiefly for their flavored coffee.  Unfortunately, the bigshots running the stores decided that it wasn't cost-effective to brew flavored coffee.  But if I wanted just plain coffee I could have gone to McDonalds and spent a lot less.  Starbucks doesn't brew flavored coffee either (also they sell ground packs of it in grocery stores), but I prefer their dark roasted brand and have become a regular of theirs instead.  But neither Starbucks nor McDonalds have the loads of cool books to browse through that Books-a-Million has, and for this I still occasionally stop by.  Besides, I got a gift card for this place last Christmas!

I know that the big trend in the publishing industry nowadays is the eBook, such as Kindle or Nook (I own a Paperwhite Kindle).  But there is nothing like going along the shelves in a bookstore and browsing various books that meet my eye, surveying them and briefly reading sections to get a sense of what they are about.  It's easier for me to find what I might be interested in reading this way...if  go to a bookseller's website I'm only going to get a partial booklist at best for my search.  And I'm not always sure as to how I should exactly phrase my search anyway.  Many times in bookstores I have expanded my scope of interests just by going down aisles seeing what's out there. Plus, it's a sad fact that not all literature is available on Kindle.  Not just the out-of-print stuff, which is overwhelming in number, but much material currently in print is still off-limits for me to buy for my e-reader.  So it's frustrating for me to see other major booksellers in Gainesville, like Waldenbooks, B. Dalton, Borders, and Barnes & Noble completely shut down their stores here.  Other than a few local used book sellers and stores supplying the University of Florida's textbook needs, all that is left are the two Books-a-Millions.  I wonder how much longer they're going to last.

I like my Kindle, but I also buy hardcopy books as well, both new and used.  And I make liberal use of my county library system, using its online catalogue to place material on hold and then stopping by at my nearest branch library when I am notified of their availability.  Two things that I focus on when I go to a place like Books-a-Million are the magazines and puzzle books.  Magazines tend to have a greater pictorial/graphic quality to them on paper than on a Kindle screen (especially for a black & white screen like mine has).  And the puzzle books I am referring to, such as KenKen, Sudoku, Kakuro, etc., involve me writing on them...also something not recommended for a Kindle...