Buy books online or offline?

Dear readers, I published this story because it’s interesting to take note that in the age of Internet, booksellers, and booklovers especially, still like to buy books at physical bookstores. Really? Some says better buy online, some says not. Hey, you have a choice.

Read this report.

Book world prepares to network at expo

NEW YORK- This year's BookExpo America will be a story of networking, the old way and the new.

Starting Thursday, thousands of authors, publishers, booksellers and librarians will gather at the Jacob Javits Convention Center to discuss what's coming out and what's going on. They will catch up as they always have, face to face, at exhibitors' booths and in conference rooms, in restaurants, bars and hotels.

"It is a sort of tribal ritual for the industry that can only happen in person," says Jonathan Burnham, senior vice president and publisher of HarperCollins.

"It's a bit like what happens when you're buying a book. There are people who think you can do all your shopping online, but if you go to a bookstore, there's a physical experience of things you might not see. With the convention, it's also serendipitous, a meeting of 'X' with 'Y' and 'Z' that can't happen with the Internet."

But BookExpo will also be a demonstration of how "X" and "Y" can meet online, and then link to "Z." For the first time, MySpace.com will attend the convention, hosting a panel on networking and serving as a supporting BEA sponsor. The industry has increasingly turned to the Internet social site, which features reading groups, author postings and its own list of the most popular titles, ranked by the number of "blog links."

"I think MySpace and YouTube and all the blogs are really the coming thing now," says David Shanks, CEO of Penguin Group (USA), which has been using MySpace to promote "Requiem for an Assassin," a thriller by Barry Eisler.

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