When I was a kid, if I wanted to read a book, I’d ask my mom to take me to the library. There, I’d browse or look for something specific, and I remember being quite pleased with the variety of stories available. It wasn’t until I was in college that I began to frequent the large chain bookstores like Borders and Barnes and Noble, with their shiny, swanky stores, large selections of books, CDs, DVDs and gourmet coffee and tea. Now I’ve heard that Borders may be failing, unable to keep up with the online ordering options from sites like Amazon. 

A visit to Amazon’s website to search for a title reveals a truly awesome number of choices. You can buy a new or used copy of the book with various binding options (hardcover, paperback, library binding, etc.), you can purchase a download and see the book on your Kindle in less than 60 seconds, and audio and DVD versions of the book are also available.

I find it curious that the consumer market would demand so many choices for something so simple as a book. I think it all points to the fact that we want what we want, where and when we want it. The digital age delivers that pretty well.