This image accompanies bookseller John Schulman’s article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Next Page: The Book Is Dead? Its Sellers Are Dying?
I couldn’t quite make out who the artist is, but will post the credit once I find out.
The article itself is worth reading as well. Schulman urges us “to remember what bookstores can provide that the Internet cannot,”and uses numerous cinematic examples to remind us of all that can happen at the bookshop.
He also believes:
that as the years go by there will be “Internet backlash,” most readers will return to the shops. It will be like “Night of the Living Dead” or “28 Days Later,” only with bookstores, and the zombies — our customers — will recover from a Google-induced daze.
Readers will rediscover the delight of physically handling an old book, thumbing through its silky pages, and getting a good whiff of that ancient and divine musty odor.
Let’s hope he’s right.