Joel Spolsky on independent bookstores
I liked Shakespeare and Co., but, you know what? They just weren't doing what it takes to be competitive. They didn't have places to sit down. They made you check your bags. They didn't have a cafe. Their selection was much smaller than B&N -- for example, I wanted a book about bicycle touring -- B&N had a whole shelf of bicycle books; Shakespeare had one book.
Amen to that, brother. I'm so tired of reading paeans to the old independent bookstores, where I could never find the book I wanted. We're starting to see a new generation of independent bookstore, like Third Place Books in Seattle, which truly compete with the big chains.

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