I was returning some items at a mall yesterday. this mall is in a black neighborhood in NYC. I overheard someone ask where the bookstore was, and the clerk said they closed it down.

this mall is not very big compared to some other malls ive come across from my travels across the US.

however, since gamestop bought EB games, there are now 3 gamestops in this mall. i can see one gamestop from standing in another one. and the third is right around the corner in the same mall.

yay for gaming, right?

there is not one bookstore, in this whole mall. 'they' closed it down.

who did?

NYC society, in this case, did. its tough to make profit when noone cares to read.

the downward spiral of urban city life continues...

Originally posted by bluberryhaze

I was returning some items at a mall yesterday. this mall is in a black neighborhood in NYC. I overheard someone ask where the bookstore was, and the clerk said they closed it down.

this mall is not very big compared to some other malls ive come across from my travels across the US.

however, since gamestop bought EB games, there are now 3 gamestops in this mall. i can see one gamestop from standing in another one. and the third is right around the corner in the same mall.

yay for gaming, right?

there is not one bookstore, in this whole mall. 'they' closed it down.

who did?

NYC society, in this case, did. its tough to make profit when noone cares to read.

the downward spiral of urban city life continues...

 

This is nothing but a racial flame war waiting to start.

i sincerely dont mean for this to get ugly. this actually upset me, not because i wanted to shop for a book... I fear for my country. a trend that will continue if parents dont start being parents.

we are adults.

the fact is the only book store was removed due to poor sales. the neighborhood is predominatly black.

some might suggest why include the black neighborhood part.

well, because that is a fact too.

or are we all too sensitive to talk about the real reason why?

the downward spiral of urban city life continues....

Before leaping to conclusions about blacks not reading, perhaps it would be worthwhile to consider that in my area, a mostly white area, small bookstores in malls have been shutdown also.  Perhaps because services like Amazon.com and megabook stores like Barnes and Nobles provide better service in greater selection.  Just a thought....

I've also noticed this trend.

A mall not to far from my home has no bookstore and never has, which is ridiculous in my opinion. I'm not a heavy reader, but I occasionally get a book (Always Chuck Pallahniuk) and some others. I think that books are screwed honestly, just like newspaper is screwed. Easy ways of entertainment will kill the old ones.

To save the OP, I don't believe that he meant what he said in a racist way. I can see the point in adding that detail even though it wasn't necessary.

Originally posted by Ampallang

Before leaping to conclusions about blacks not reading, perhaps it would be worthwhile to consider that in my area, a mostly white area, small bookstores in malls have been shutdown also.  Perhaps because services like Amazon.com and megabook stores like Barnes and Nobles provide better service in greater selection.  Just a thought....

btw Amp, it not about blacks not reading, its about urban city youth. this book store happened to be in a black neighborhood. most city kids dont read, be it black, white or brown. usually because there parents suck. I make my son read. I am trying to provide him with all the opportunities i can.

no harm meant in my descriptive text.

No total offence, but its NYC, what else would you expect? Anyways, here all the malls have two and three bookstores in them. MacArthur Center in Norfolk has a Barnes & Noble (or maybe its Waldenbooks?) that is two floors tall with a Starbucks in it, and there are two other single "lot" book stores. Chesapeake Square and Greenbrier Mall both have two bookstores in them as well, while all the video game stores (Gamestop, EB) are really small.

Why even insinuate that the bookstore closed down beacuse it was in a black neighbourhood?? Is this supposed to say black people arent educated, can't read, too lazy to read??

You know the bookstore could've closed down due to poor management.  Bringing a skin color into it is just plain stupid.

Originally posted by Flem

Why even insinuate that the bookstore closed down beacuse it was in a black neighbourhood?? Is this supposed to say black people arent educated, can't read, too lazy to read??

You know the bookstore could've closed down due to poor management.  Bringing a skin color into it is just plain stupid.

i also didn't say black people  arent educated, cant read or are too lazy.

you did.

my beef is with urban cities. democrat cities. failed policies. failed education. failed parenting. failing youth. failing america.

im going to watch that new george clooney movie now, michael clayton. im sure most of america can relate to that.

goodnight.

Originally posted by bluberryhaze

i sincerely dont mean for this to get ugly. this actually upset me, not because i wanted to shop for a book... I fear for my country. a trend that will continue if parents dont start being parents.

we are adults.

the fact is the only book store was removed due to poor sales. the neighborhood is predominatly black.

some might suggest why include the black neighborhood part.

well, because that is a fact too.

or are we all too sensitive to talk about the real reason why?

the downward spiral of urban city life continues....

 

The simple reason is Borders and Amazon. They dominate the book sale market now, and are killing off competition at an alarming rate.

The scary part is that 90% of what Americans read is decided on by these two companies. 
Pretty scary wouldnt you say ?

Originally posted by bluberryhaze

 

Originally posted by Flem

Why even insinuate that the bookstore closed down beacuse it was in a black neighbourhood?? Is this supposed to say black people arent educated, can't read, too lazy to read??

You know the bookstore could've closed down due to poor management.  Bringing a skin color into it is just plain stupid.

i didnt insinuate it closed down because it was in a black neighborhood.

 

i also didn't say black people  arent educated, cant read or are too lazy.

you did.

my beef is with urban cities. democrat cities. failed policies. failed education. failed parenting. failing youth. failing america.

im going to watch that new george clooney movie now, michael clayton. im sure most of america can relate to that.

goodnight.

Your the one who brought race into it, think before you post next time.  Why not just say, hey a bookstore closed down...why even mention the black neighbourhood unless your already thinking thats the reason it shut down.

Originally posted by bluberryhaze

 

Originally posted by Flem

Why even insinuate that the bookstore closed down beacuse it was in a black neighbourhood?? Is this supposed to say black people arent educated, can't read, too lazy to read??

You know the bookstore could've closed down due to poor management.  Bringing a skin color into it is just plain stupid.

i didnt insinuate it closed down because it was in a black neighborhood.

 

i also didn't say black people  arent educated, cant read or are too lazy.

you did.

my beef is with urban cities. democrat cities. failed policies. failed education. failed parenting. failing youth. failing america.

im going to watch that new george clooney movie now, michael clayton. im sure most of america can relate to that.

goodnight.

Inner city issues are caused by problems that we as a civilization have not taken care of. You constantly put everything in black and white, republican or democrat. The world does not work that way.

I highly doubt race is the factor, its everywhere....people are reading less paperbacks nowadays. Soon it will be a thing of the past. With busy lifestyles and technology advancing there are less book readers... People rather spend there time doing other things. Im sure there is a stastic somewhere. AH! here http://parapub.com/sites/para/resources/statistics.cfm

Sales of new books are decreasing while the sales of used books are increasing.
--Publishers weekly, September 20, 2004.
http://www.PublishersWeekly.com

One-third of the books sold worldwide are sold in the US.
--Overseas Book Service, December 8, 1998.
 http://www.overseasbookservice.com/

While the US Population is growing and education levels are rising, book sales are not—due to heavy media competition for leisure time.
--Business Trend Analysts, Inc. as reported in Publishers Weekly, October 27, 1997.
http://www.businesstrendanalysts.com/
http://www.PublishersWeekly.com

2006. For January through November 2006, net book sales of $8.623 billion were exactly even with the first 11 months of 2005.

• Audiobooks were up 24.7% to $19.6 million, with year-to-date sales off 11.7%.
• Adult hardcovers rose 16.8% to $206.7 million and were up 3% for the year.
• Children's/YA hardcovers were up 8.1% to $53.8 million but have fallen 30.1% for the year.
• University press hardcovers, with sales of $6.6 million, were even with the previous year; sales were up 3.8% for the year.
• Religious books were down 2.2% to $47.9 million and were off 9.5% for the year.
• Adult mass market dropped 6.3% to $73.2 million but was up 6.1% for the year.
• Children's/YA paperbacks fell 8.3% to $37.7 million, and sales were up 0.3% for the year.
• E-books dropped 9.2% to $1.9 million but have risen 22.4% for the year.
• Adult paperbacks were down 9.7% to $99.4 million but were up 11.6% for the year.
• University press paperbacks were down 14.1% to $5.1 million but have risen 4.6% for the year.

why the hell was race brought into this?

To the OP.

You brought the race aspect in by mentioning that said store was in a black neighborhood. There was no need to even mention it. You decided to, not anyone else. So with that one sentence it becomes obvious that you are either trolling or are racist. Then to top it all off you blame a political party.

I could certainly make some generalizations about you just as you have used a broad brush to paint your story but I'll leave that for others. Suffice to say that unless you have the I.Q of a cheesie you should know that posting a thread with the title "Book store closes in predominantly black shopping mall" is slightly racist.

You mentioned failed parenting in your earlier posting. Irony at it's finest.

......yes, democrats are the cause of bookstores being taken out of NYC malls, democrat cities. Somebody give Blue a purple heart, pulitzer prize, or a sock of quarters for this brain tasking discovery.

Umm.... This shouldn't be news... Books are not nearly as popular as they were 20 years ago... As a matter of fact the smaller book stores have been getting crushed by the likes of majors like Books a Million and Barnes and Noble so expect to see all others falling at one point or another (waldenbooks..)

It has nothing to do with the paint on your body (black and white yellow and orange blue..) .. Bookstores are bookstores and if they cant compete with the competition or are not making enouhg money to support themselves, they close as is the case with ANY other business... Poeple must love video games around where you live if they have 3 gamestops in a small mall..heh.. thats like what 50% of the stores right there huh?

Originally posted by Flem

Why even insinuate that the bookstore closed down beacuse it was in a black neighbourhood?? Is this supposed to say black people arent educated, can't read, too lazy to read??

You know the bookstore could've closed down due to poor management.  Bringing a skin color into it is just plain stupid.

ahhh. refreshing to log on and see predictablility.

because the word black was mentioned in a descriptive term, i am a racist.

i hope others who have read this thread and subsequent post  and,  not have replied in negative manner, see what i see...

the sensitivity training i must go through.

bookstores in almost all malls across the country are closing down.

why?

because those super huge chains (borders, barnes and nobles) are popping up everywhere, usually right next to the malls.

there used to be 3 music stores in a big mall near me when i was younger. now, theres kinda 1(its more of a movie/game/cd store with not tons of options of either of the 3)
know why? cuz those bookstores sell the music, the bestbuy in the mall parking lot sells the music, the circuit city across the street sells it, the wallmart and target in the shopping center adjacent to it sell the music etc.

you get the point.