It's a hybrid, grafting the best of what web technology has to offer onto the heart of those old-fashioned, independent bookstores that are disappearing even as I write this.
Independents are usually on the small size, crammed with more books than there are shelves.
And usually the proprietor knows your name and your tastes after you've made just on e or two visits back. And these are the stores that readers mourn when they shut down, pushed out of business by the superstore that opens in the mall or by online sales that cut into profit. But there are survivors, too. But there the comparisons stop. Highlighted here are fascinating finds, creative companions and Readerville reviews on books that might have been released last week or last century.