The other day, I stopped in to Barnes and Noble in Salem, NH to peruse their magazine section.  To be honest, I wondered if they still had a decent selection. It had been quite a while since I was last inside a book store.  Much to my surprise, and total satisfaction, they had racks and racks of magazines. Just look at the featured photo and here is another partial section.

These were just two out of maybe a dozen racks. I was thrilled to be standing amid so many options and felt a weird giddiness as my eyes darted from one publication to the next. I found magazines on the most obscure subjects. For example, Bead & Jewellry Magazine (yes, Jewellry is spelled correctly!) and Cardmaking & Papercraft Magazine. These and many others got me thinking, they print magazines for that? Clearly I’m not a crafty type. And I wondered, how in the heck do these publications stay afloat?

However they do it, I’m glad they do.  I absolutely love flipping through a good magazine. Having so many choices all around me affirmed my longstanding belief that no matter how many reports say print is dead, I say it isn’t. Yes, the audience for these fabulous paper products may have substantially diminished in size, but an audience still exists – of that I am sure.

We all know the folks who talk about the joy of holding a book in their hands and feeling the texture of the paper as they flip the pages. I’m one of those people and I know many more just like me. I also know many people, both young and old, who read exclusively online. Some may be reading this right now. While they may be contributing to the print is dead belief system, I do understand their choice. Kindles, Nooks, iPads or whatever digital device tickles their fancy are convenient, less bulky and likely offer more choices. But my tired eyes need a break now and then. A good old printed magazine, book or catalog is just the thing I enjoy when my screen time has reached its max.

After my latest stop in to Barnes and Noble, the old brick and mortar book store may have found themselves a new regular customer. I truly enjoyed taking my time sifting through the magazine racks looking for what I needed and more of what I didn’t.

What’s your opinion? Do you think print is dead?

Thanks for reading and, yes, I’m aware that by blogging I’m contributing to the demise of print media. Sorry beloved books and magazines, but I do still love you.

The blog will be on break next week. See you back on Tuesday, April 25^th when I start a new post schedule of every Tuesday & Thursday.

For those of you doing something fun during April break, Enjoy! And Happy Easter, Passover and Christos Anesti to all of those celebrating.