When did bookstores stop being about books ?

While the Internet does bear some responsibility, I mostly blame Barnes & Nobles, Borders & all the other places owned & run by bean-counting, barren-minded, mongoloid pinheads who think that a bookstore is exactly the right place to get a double mocha, triple hazelnut, raspberry decaf and a biscotto, and pickup some Betty or Barney for a night of fumbling, desperate rutting.

The MIT COOP in Kendall Square, in particular, used to be a great place to browse shelves for hours and discover all kinds of interesting stuff, before they went corporate. Same with the on-campus Stanford University bookstore.

If the owners of those places are reading this... Enough with the bloody merchandising, ok? Education is not a fracking "lifestyle". You and your stores manifest all that is wrong with the educational systems in the US and UK, and the general decline of people in our higher education system from being seekers of truth and knowledge to lazy, know-nothing, money-grabbing assclowns. You know who you are. A lingering pox on you all.

Anyway, someone else who misses the point, puts in his 10 cents:
http://books.guardian.co.uk/shoptalk/story/0,,2239172,00.html

Just so you know, the 3 best bookstores in the world are, in no particular order:

• Foyle's, in London, UK
  
• Blackwell's, in Oxford, UK
• Powell's, in Portland, Oregon

And here in Santa Cruz, an oasis of civilization still exists: http://www.bookshopsantacruz.com
No coffee, no food, no music. Just books. Serenity.