"Black Friday," the cover illustration by Daniel Clowes for this week's issue of the New Yorker magazine, takes a shot at product diversification in bookstores and the effect of the growth of e-books.
The New Yorker's dim view of the evolution of bookstores is ironically timed: from what we're hearing, many indies are having a strong fall--and still selling a lot of books. As Oren Teicher, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, said, speaking of the buy local movement, online sales tax collection and publishers' recognition of the importance of the independent retail channel, "Some things are going our way. It's still an uphill battle--it's always an uphill battle--but at least the wind and boulders aren't coming down on us."