The Loss of a Literary Revolution

This past month of January the city of Walnut Creek suffered a great loss in terms of the literary community. In downtown Walnut Creek the locally acclaimed book store Barnes and Noble shut down. A store that’s been around longer than any of the Northgate students have been alive for saw its end as it was bought out for the location of a new clothing store.

As a local resident of Walnut Creek growing up with Barnes and Noble the question begs “Where does it end?”

This may be an overdramatic reaction but the question is as validated as any other. Without Barnes and Noble there are no other sole book stores in the downtown area. Not only that but it seems as if every day there is another over priced, highly unevolved clothing store being open in the downtown central area of this city.

So where does it end? As a society built solely around the internet there are those who argue that it is easier to simply buy books online.

This argument, while validated, misses an important aspect of human life. Barnes and Noble was not simply a book store, but a social place of gathering for shoppers, readers, and those looking to be productive and get work done in the up stairs coffee shop. There is also something to be said about being able to look through rows and rows of new books with endless possibilities about the adventure about to unfold by the flip of a page.

An online store simply does not have that intimate experience with a book. The ability to meet with friends to get schoolwork done, grab a quick coffee, or even escape the hustle and bustle of the local shopper is now lost with a simple closing of the doors.

I might also add: What does it say about our city if we get rid of a book store to put in a new clothing store? It seems on every corner there is a Forever 21 or a Brandy Melville accompanied by a nearby Starbucks.

Everyone likes to shop, but is there a point where it is too much? After talking with a Barnes and Noble employee, there was information that the store would be looking for a new location soon and that this certainly is not the end of the franchise itself.

It keeps fellow reader’s hopeful with these happy words of further development of a new store, but even so if all that one can see in a book store is potential clothing shop space, is it already to late?