Steve Weinberg has been a journalist, professor, author (10 books) and prolific book reviewer in a 50-year career. But now, no longer in the classroom or at work on books, he likes nothing more than visiting his grandchildren — and strolling into the three bookstores in his home town of Columbia, Missouri, a university town.
In one used book store — two miles from his home — he can find gems tucked on the shelves. Another is a rare independent bookseller of new books that opened just before the pandemic, but has survived —and thrived, a rarity today. And the third is what Weinberg describes as “a very good” Barnes and Noble, a chain store.
Weinberg, a reader since childhood, grew up in a house where his mother made sure there were lots of books., where teachers encouraged reading, and where he was “able to get on his bike and ride to the public library.”
“Of course, I use libraries,” he told me. “But I always like to buy books. I don’t spend much money on other things.” He quickly added: “I don’t ever buy books from Amazon. I want to support brick and mortar bookstores.” But Weinberg may be part of a dying breed.
A congressional investigation of Big Tech monopolies found that Amazon has “market power over the entire book industry,” including sales, distribution and publishing. In the United States, Amazon’s annual sale of 300 million books accounts for over half of all print and 80 per cent of e-book sales.
When I look for a book — new or used — I go to Amazon. Two days later I am reading the book in my bed. In fact, 60% of online searches start with Amazon, the most-visited website in the world for shopping, controlling about 70% of all U.S. online sales with $316 billion sales in 2022.........