Another Chapter Bookstore, Owasso, Okla., will close November 15. Owner Karen Barros told the Reporter that "she feels bookstores like hers have become a rarity in an age where people can now rely on smartphones and tablets to access an unlimited number of titles with the flick of a finger."
Barros, who opened her bookshop two years ago, said, "Amazon was my biggest competitor because people have to have it online... we're in a society of 'get it now,' and I understand that. Audio is big (too). A lot of people are listening to books on audio because you can get them for next to nothing."
She offered advice for people in smaller communities like Owasso: "I encourage local book readers to get that real book in their hands. Having a real book in your hand is an adventure, it takes you places that you normally don't get to go, and it takes you on a destiny." Barros added: "I have made some amazing connections. Some of the people I have met through this adventure have been just incredible. I feel very blessed to have met (them). It's been an amazing journey. I feel like I have grown as person."