Hey, Chester--remember book stores?

Publishers Weekly reports that bookstore sales rose 1.8% in April. That's the good news. The bad news is that a lot of those sales came from stores closing out.

Vancouver has lost yet another independent bookstore, the kind of store of which the city once had many. At one time Vancouver had more bookstores per capita than any other city in Canada. Now most are gone, joining record shops, embattled DVD outlets, and neighborhood Mom and Pop grocery stores, lost to giant retailers and the digital revolution. Why go out to a store when you can sit at home and order on-line? An agoraphobic's dream.

The digital onslaught is expected to continue in other areas of life. This, for instance, may be one of the last seasons when we see actual live hockey players on the ice. With the increasing sophistication of robotics and artificial intelligence, club owners may soon be able to send out teams of androids to battle each other. Many owners welcome this news, recognizing that while the initial cost may be high, the long-term savings potential is terrific--only a few parts to be replaced and some rewiring necessary.  

And then--first the players, next the fans. It is a sci-fi writer's ominous dream. 

Do what you can to halt the tide. Find a bookstore, doing business somewhere in a walk-in closet. Locate a record shop in an abandoned telephone booth. There is still time. 

Maybe.