The Death of the American Penny.

Well, it’s been in discussion for years, but the man behind the curtain X’d (I guess you can’t say tweeted anymore?), that the American penny should be killed. So, his underling ordered the American Treasury Department to stop making pennies (which each cost about 2.3 cents to make–about $178 million a year–and some have argued only Congress can do this (kill the penny), but, well, that’s another discussion for a later time).
I just read an article highlighting that eBooks make up about 21% of total book sales in the USA now, and that total is rising each year. Once an eBook is released, the average price is $14.99. Within six months they are $0.99 or free on Kindle Unlimited. Hardcover books sell for $29.99 or more and paperbacks sell for about $19.99.
Our local Costco doesn’t carry books any more. Our Target and Walmart still do, but their departments are shrinking. We have one, only one, local independent bookstore in West Hawaii (Big Island—population 200k). During a recent trip back to Los Angeles (where I lived for 30 years) one of the Barnes and Nobles bookstores closed. There are now 12 Barnes and Nobles stores in the greater LA area (population of LA county is about 10 million). An independent bookstore I used to frequent in Santa Monica closed a few years ago. Thankfully Book Soup in West Hollywood is still there.
In any event, I am guilty of buying mostly eBooks now. I have a large print library that takes up two walls with books that were read once, shelved, and are now gathering dust (well, my house cleaner does actually dust). ???? I do, however, purge some books each year and donate them to various organizations, but can you believe it that our local library doesn’t want them? They don’t have room to store them. I know some people still love to hold a book and especially smell a newly printed one (I do too), but I can imagine in a hundred years the death of the printed book too.
Penny today. Printed books tomorrow?
Over the river and through the woods To Grandmother’s house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh Through the wide and drifted snow. I…
We are back from a river cruise down the Danube from Budapest to Bucharest. Well, what did we see? We were amazed at the people who are beathing;…
As a kid, I watched Star Trek. Some things have come true. I remember at the market you had to push to open the door. On Star Trek,…
Donald Sutherland is gone. I saw him on stage at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles years ago in a play. What can one say? M*A*S*H etc……
Food, travel, books, movies, television shows, and on…and on… A family member of mine doesn’t like avocado. Won’t dip his chip into guacamole. YUM. A friend I dine…
Ciao. Getting ready for our two-week trip to Northern Italy. Northern Italy you say. What about the rest of Italy? Well, in due course. A friend of mine…
This is my first post on this forum, so I wanted to do something short and light. What types of distractions interrupt you when you’re hammering away at…