For me, bookstores (particularly second hand) are like sitting at the tree on Chirstmas morning… there is so much waiting to be unwrapped. I regularly lose myself for hours on end - cover gazing, page flipping, reading, contemplating and of course buying. For me, the experience of walking into a store and discovering a book will always be far more rewarding than the online experience, but so much of what I am seeking these days can only be found online. But all that may be changing…
Check out this article on The Northshire Bookstore in Vermont who have installed ‘a hulking jumble of machinery’ known as the Espresso Book Machine; an example of the print-on-demand technology able to serve up millions of titles to the eager customer.
Yep, it’s like a jukebox for books! And while I am not sure whether bookstores are the best place to have such machines, imagine the possibilities - Airports, Train Stations, Hotels… all those places where time just seems to drag and the books on offer in newsagents etc… just don’t cut it.
This machine certainly has potential. Imagine if there was one at your local shopping centre… it may actually make doing the groceries more bearable.
