Independent Booksellers

Just finished The Seven Stairs by Stuart Brent (further commentary here), and was struck by his 1988-vintage assessment of the deteriorated state of the publishing industry and the fate of the independent bookseller. I can't help but wonder what he'd think today, with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders and discount retailers all but decimating the independents. (In Brent's day, the behemoth competitor was Kroch's & Brentano's, a now-defunct chain whose former dominance now seems rather quaint.)

On a somewhat related note, I'm reminded of one of my favorite commentaries on the literary establishment, which comes--not surprisingly--from "The Simpsons." Hans Moleman is in the Springfield Airport, at a bookstore called "Just Crichton and King":

Hans: Do you have any books by Robert Ludlum? Clerk (evilly): Get out.