I can't think of ONE bookstore I've ever been in that looks and feels as you describe... really? As a writer, I ALWAYS buy from the local bookstore that has supported my career, offering me a plce to have a launch, and hand-selling my book. So I support by ORDERING my books from them when I don't see them on the shelves. Eventually, all we'll have--if we continue down the amazon path--is a bunch of garbage. When I wrote my most recent, a memoir of caregiving, I could not find a book (nowhere online) like it. I ended up ordering a LOT of self-published books about caregiving/living with a terminal disease...and could not find one amongst the self-published pieces that was useful or well-written. This is a great article. Thank you, Andy, for writing it!