The death of bookstores is bad news for Thailand

[Zooheekock]

We are very fortunate in Chiang Mai to have several fine bookshops carrying thousands of titles of English and other languages.The best: Backstreet Books, The Lost Bookshop, and Gecko Books. There are also several outlets for Thai books and periodicals.

More importantly, you have Book Re:public, though the extensive harassment of independent bookshops by the junta has hardly helped their cause. I know one Thai academic who owned an independent bookshop which he shut down after the coup as the risks are just not worth it; if there is no freedom of expression, there is not a great deal of point running a bookshop, though it's heartening to see that Book Re:republic is still struggling on.

[spidermike007]

I always thought books were like kryptonite to Thais, apart from comic books of course

You thought wrong - data last year said that Thais were the top readers on the planet and it still has more bookshops per head of population than any other nation on earth. Any large mall in Thailand has two or three bookstores. Try and find that in the US or the UK these days.

Can you please share some of your difficult to find support data? I have only once or twice seen a Thai reading a book. I am not referring to those books with alot of pictures. Real books. So rare to see here. I have asked dozens of Thais about this, and most say reading is boring. Reading is anything but boring, if you are reading something good! I suspect that data was paid for by the TAT? Or the education department?

[jpeg]

I recently argued that reading physical book is much better than on a screen.This article bears out my theory http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/19/readers-absorb-less-kindles-paper-study-plot-ereader-digitisation

I only read articles online inaccessible here. I would never read an entire book for the reasons outlined in said article and like another poster, prefer the physicality of a BOOK. Together with the fact, it's very damaging for your eyesight. A fact to which, posters on here with an inordinately high post count will attest

This is simply due to the fact that people need to get used to navigating on an electronic reader. You have to learn how to use the table of contents and bookmarks to keep track. "The physical feeling of pages in your hand so you can feel and see the progression." You can see this on an e-reader if you just look at the bottom. It tells you how far you are in the book and some of them have meters that fill as you read. This study is hardly evidence for anything. The navigation tools on an e-reader are much more efficient than a paperback book. You can search for keywords on an e-reader, and you can make notes as you read just like in a paperback. There is really no reason to argue that paperback books are superior to electronic books other than being old-fashioned and finding a personal preference for it.

Stupid post. Re read the article. Also might learn something if you were to research digital overload and neuroplasticity.

Edited September 16, 2014 by jpeg

[Zooheekock]

Although I do it regularly, reading on an electronic device is clearly inferior to reading a book (unless, perhaps, you're reading some kind mindless airport blockbuster or looking up something in a reference book, in which case they may be as good or better than a printed book). Navigation is more difficult, the material is less accessible, it's a much less immersive experience, the costs of use are much greater, they're much easier to break, they do not degrade gracefully and the product has a vastly reduced lifespan. Plus, of course, there's the general worry (and it's one which I think is on the money) that that use of tablets, etc. generally erodes one's ability to concentrate and to function at higher levels of intellectual intensity; e-readers are a bizarre example of a perfectly good technology being displaced by a signficantly worse one.

Edited September 16, 2014 by Zooheekock

[Upset]

I have a thai friend, a woman in who is 32, drives an e-class mercedes and is quiet well to do. Whenever we go out for together, I always find the latest english bestsellers in her car, when I asked her about the book...she does not know a thing about the contents. Later, I found out that a lot of thais will go to kinokuniya to buy the latest best sellers and leave in places like the car, their homes or offices to show other thais that they are well read! Can u believe this!

[tx22cb]

A long time ago, I started to collect physical books when I came across ones I liked. Not to read - but which I kept in cupboards/wardrobes/boxes, thinking that I would get around to reading them when I retired (knowing that English books are going to be rare in places like Thailand).

I had a most enjoyable 20 years, browsing second-hand shops, garage sales, stores close-outs. What a thrill to come across a wonderful tome!

However, as I relocated hither and thither, I found shipping these books around the world rather tedious, and eventually, 5 years ago, started to amass books in e-form. Luckily I was able to replicate my physical library quite well, so I have been bidding fond farewells to my books as they fall apart naturally. As I downsize in future, I can foresee that the only books I will keep are those which are not available in electronic form.

My father had a large library, but none of us children wanted (nor had the means) to keep his books. I am sure the same fate would have befallen my physical books.

[Zooheekock]

I have a thai friend, a woman in who is 32, drives an e-class mercedes and is quiet well to do. Whenever we go out for together, I always find the latest english bestsellers in her car, when I asked her about the book...she does not know a thing about the contents. Later, I found out that a lot of thais will go to kinokuniya to buy the latest best sellers and leave in places like the car, their homes or offices to show other thais that they are well read! Can u believe this!

I used to work in an antiquarian bookshop and we used to sell books by the metre to interior designers for them to build entirely unread (and in many cases, unreadable) libraries for their clients so it's hardly unique to Thais. In truth, half of the bookshops in Britain would go out of business overnight if people only ever bought books which they read.

[billd766]

A long time ago, I started to collect physical books when I came across ones I liked. Not to read - but which I kept in cupboards/wardrobes/boxes, thinking that I would get around to reading them when I retired (knowing that English books are going to be rare in places like Thailand).

I had a most enjoyable 20 years, browsing second-hand shops, garage sales, stores close-outs. What a thrill to come across a wonderful tome!

However, as I relocated hither and thither, I found shipping these books around the world rather tedious, and eventually, 5 years ago, started to amass books in e-form. Luckily I was able to replicate my physical library quite well, so I have been bidding fond farewells to my books as they fall apart naturally. As I downsize in future, I can foresee that the only books I will keep are those which are not available in electronic form.

My father had a large library, but none of us children wanted (nor had the means) to keep his books. I am sure the same fate would have befallen my physical books.

I have about 500 soft cover books in my library at home and I wonder what will happen to them when I die.

[Jonmarleesco]

I agree that the WB literacy figure for Thailand is pie in the sky, especially considering how many youngsters think the pictures in Marvel are literature. But I think the printed book is a long way from being supplanted by ebooks; at least, for now.

I would, though, be more interested in the figures for Bookazine and Asia Books, than those for SE Education.

[jacky54]

! Outside of newspapers and magazines, Thais in general don't read very much at all. The education system doesn't encourage it.

Sadly true. Several in our Thai family are teachers or heads of School, I have yet to see any books, apart from School text books in any of their homes. One who I have only ever seen reading the Thai Rath recently got his masters degree, how he managed that I have no idea, never seen him write anything or use a computer either

[leopeek]

I still prefer real books over e-books, got me a great collection of over 3000 fantasy books in english that will go with me to thailand.

would hate it to left my first editions behind.

[balo]

In about 100 years time there will be no more paper books in the world anyway as long as the technology are allowed to keep going. Books printed on paper belongs to the stoneage,

[robertthebruce]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

My students don't even know the latin alphabet, I gave them a worksheet to translate from English to Thai using dictionaries. They managed to finish 15 out of 30 words in one hour and told me that many of the words where not in the dictionary. So I showed them that if they just looked at the right place they would find them all in the dictionary, I checked (dictionary made in Thailand, not Oxford...) while making the handout to be sure as it was about agriculture and not common conversion... And these students are studying in higher vocational education (18+)!

I don't know the Latin Alphabet either and not interested ... Always confuses me when I see the numbers written with that....

You're taking the P, right? I V X L C D M are Roman 'numerals' - not an alphabet. My Lord, what is the world comingth th to?

No I ain't taking the piss, I am talking about the signs after like Henry V or Henry VII ??? That stuff...

[typ123]

I recently argued that reading physical book is much better than on a screen.This article bears out my theory http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/19/readers-absorb-less-kindles-paper-study-plot-ereader-digitisation

I only read articles online inaccessible here. I would never read an entire book for the reasons outlined in said article and like another poster, prefer the physicality of a BOOK. Together with the fact, it's very damaging for your eyesight. A fact to which, posters on here with an inordinately high post count will attest

This is simply due to the fact that people need to get used to navigating on an electronic reader. You have to learn how to use the table of contents and bookmarks to keep track. "The physical feeling of pages in your hand so you can feel and see the progression." You can see this on an e-reader if you just look at the bottom. It tells you how far you are in the book and some of them have meters that fill as you read. This study is hardly evidence for anything. The navigation tools on an e-reader are much more efficient than a paperback book. You can search for keywords on an e-reader, and you can make notes as you read just like in a paperback. There is really no reason to argue that paperback books are superior to electronic books other than being old-fashioned and finding a personal preference for it.

Stupid post. Re read the article. Also might learn something if you were to research digital overload and neuroplasticity.

Grandpa, I read the article, and I understand what digital overload and neuroplasticity are. Reading on the computer and on a tablet can give people digital overload. I am talking about reading on an electronic reader with electronic ink ONLY. No lights, no games, no movies, no music, etc. It's for reading only. Please respond via scroll and horseback because that would make me feel much better. It's clearly the better way of communicating because you can smell the leather of the saddle and your hair can blow in the wind.

[typ123]

Although I do it regularly, reading on an electronic device is clearly inferior to reading a book (unless, perhaps, you're reading some kind mindless airport blockbuster or looking up something in a reference book, in which case they may be as good or better than a printed book). Navigation is more difficult, the material is less accessible, it's a much less immersive experience, the costs of use are much greater, they're much easier to break, they do not degrade gracefully and the product has a vastly reduced lifespan. Plus, of course, there's the general worry (and it's one which I think is on the money) that that use of tablets, etc. generally erodes one's ability to concentrate and to function at higher levels of intellectual intensity; e-readers are a bizarre example of a perfectly good technology being displaced by a signficantly worse one.

My e-reader (not a tablet, it uses electronic ink) cost me 2000 baht brand new and I have roughly 300 books on it, and there are more in cloud storage. E-books are much more affordable. It's actually more immersing because the technology is more interactive. You can't zoom on a paperback book, change the font size, or look up words instantly. I can navigate much more quickly on an e-reader. As soon as I open the book it goes to the last page I was on, among many other features. I don't have to hold it open while I'm reading it so it's more comfortable. Cell phones are easy to break too, but you don't see me resorting to using plastic cups and a string. "They don't degrade gracefully" Can you elaborate on that?

[typ123]

I still prefer real books over e-books, got me a great collection of over 3000 fantasy books in english that will go with me to thailand.

would hate it to left my first editions behind.

Sounds like a pain in the ass. Just think if you could put all those books on one device. After all, isn't the purpose of reading to actually read the books rather than glamorize about them and stare at them on a shelf?

[3NUMBAS]

browse any bookshop in BKK and a good selection of books but few buyers ,Centre world and MBK etc .

as for second hand books theres little of quaity to be found except nasty brown paperbacks of no consequence

[northernjohn]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

That sounds like a generic ThaiVisa "off the shelf" response to a news article such as this. Is the Thai journalist that wrote the article the exception that proves your rule?

By inference, you're implying the minds of the young of other (read western) cultures will not be turned to mush with access to the same accoutrements such as TV and call phones.

I got news for you - the minds of western youth is already mush and we've got a 30 year head start on Thailand.

You are being to kind. LOL

My ex was managing a Subway in Canada. She gave up on hiring young people it was lights on no one home with them.

[BugJackBaron]

I still prefer real books over e-books, got me a great collection of over 3000 fantasy books in english that will go with me to thailand.

would hate it to left my first editions behind.

Sounds like a pain in the ass. Just think if you could put all those books on one device. After all, isn't the purpose of reading to actually read the books rather than glamorize about them and stare at them on a shelf?

Moving books can be a pain but one of the nice things with real book collections is a tactile sense and the ability to randomly flip through them. Browsing on ebooks is always laggy in comparison. Real books have nice glossy pictures and even smell good!

Ebooks have advantages of easy portability and searchability(for scholarship purposes). But they lack warmth.

Ideally I would back up my book collection with ebooks and have a cozy library/reading room in a house for

"flying with the mind".

[ETatBKK]

I still talk to the undergrad and postgrad students on the advantage of reading and browsing. when the book or the magazine on our hand, sometimes we just flip through or browse casually. this simple task creates a magical snapshot and index in our brain, when we need a more detailed information, or lining up couple of concepts, we know where to go !

I use electronic media as well, even with full size upright monitor, I won't able to get this snapshot.

[billd766]

In about 100 years time there will be no more paper books in the world anyway as long as the technology are allowed to keep going. Books printed on paper belongs to the stoneage,

You mean something like the Magna Carta written in the early 1200s.

Books have a resale value. Ebooks don't.

[Zooheekock]

My e-reader (not a tablet, it uses electronic ink) cost me 2000 baht brand new and I have roughly 300 books on it, and there are more in cloud storage. E-books are much more affordable.

I have a couple of thousand books on the shelves in my house. There's room for a lot more and whilst ebooks are usually somewhat cheaper to buy, second-hand printed books are almost always much cheaper than ebooks.

It's actually more immersing because the technology is more interactive. You can't zoom on a paperback book, change the font size, or look up words instantly.

This all makes it a less immersive experience. If you're fiddling about with stuff like that, you are not in the book. With a book, there is you and there is the word and that is it. This direct, immediate connection is completely absent on an e-reader.

I can navigate much more quickly on an e-reader. ]As soon as I open the book it goes to the last page I was on, among many other features.

You can't flip through an e-reader in the way that you can flip through a book. Unless you know exactly what you're looking for, it is much, much, much more difficult to find a passage in an electronic book than in a printed book. And I have that same 'instantly retrieve your last page experience'. This is thanks to a rare and exotic piece of high-technology--a bookmark.

Reading textbooks is probably physically easier on an e-reader but in the case of other books, there doesn't seem to be much difference.

Cell phones are easy to break too, but you don't see me resorting to using plastic cups and a string.

A cup and string does not work as well as a phone. A book works as well as, or better than, an e-reader.

As for degrading gracefully, digital technology either works or it doesn't work. Digital technologies don't partly work. I can damage an e-reader a little bit and it may work but if I damage it a bit more, at a certain point, it will simply stop functioning. Printed books are not like that. They degrade but they are still fully functional until they reach very extreme levels of damage.

[Zooheekock]

Books printed on paper belongs to the stoneage,

Yes, that's right. The printing press was clearly an archetypal Stone Age technology. Sigh. God save us from this nonsense.

[typ123]

I have a couple of thousand books on the shelves in my house. There's room for a lot more and whilst ebooks are usually somewhat cheaper to buy, second-hand printed books are almost always much cheaper than ebooks.

This all makes it a less immersive experience. If you're fiddling about with stuff like that, you are not in the book. With a book, there is you and there is the word and that is it. This direct, immediate connection is completely absent on an e-reader.

You can't flip through an e-reader in the way that you can flip through a book. Unless you know exactly what you're looking for, it is much, much, much more difficult to find a passage in an electronic book than in a printed book. And I have that same 'instantly retrieve your last page experience'. This is thanks to a rare and exotic piece of high-technology--a bookmark.

Reading textbooks is probably physically easier on an e-reader but in the case of other books, there doesn't seem to be much difference.

A cup and string does not work as well as a phone. A book works as well as, or better than, an e-reader.

As for degrading gracefully, digital technology either works or it doesn't work. Digital technologies don't partly work. I can damage an e-reader a little bit and it may work but if I damage it a bit more, at a certain point, it will simply stop functioning. Printed books are not like that. They degrade but they are still fully functional until they reach very extreme levels of damage.

1) What about new books? Should we just sit around and wait to buy second-hand classics on dusty shelves? What about free ebooks? Ebooks are more affordable. There's no argument here. You could have a couple million books on cloud storage and a couple thousand on an e-reader. It's amazing that the portability and convenience of this fact alone doesn't sway the dinosaurs.

2) A paper book and an e-book have exactly the same words, the only difference is that the e-book is equipped with technological features that enable people to navigate the book more efficiently. It's much more immersing. The ability to see the definition of words instantly is incredible for improving readability, keeping one immersed in the book without having to find a dictionary to look up a word, or worse forgetting it and reading anyway only to not understand. This is an example of a tool that makes the reading experience more interactive. It's not fiddling. You have the same "direct, immediate connection" with an e-book because it's the exact same book, only with added tools to enhance reading.

3) People can swipe their finger effortlessly across the screen, or click a button to turn a page. It's a lot quicker. No finger-licking, pages blowing in the fan, making creases, etc. How is it "much, much, much,", more difficult to search for a passage in an e-book? All you have to do is type it in a search bar and there it is. With a paper book you have to try to figure out where it is based on recall rather than using a search engine. Yes, it is physically easier to read an e-book, and it's a lot more efficient.

4) The analogy is accurate because the e-reader is slowly replacing books, and for many good reasons that I could list that will become more and more obvious in the near future. No one is claiming that their colossal collection of video tapes is superior to an external hard drive holding thousands of hours of video in just the same way. "Degrading gracefully". A 2000 baht e-reader with millions of books on cloud storage and backed up in other places vs. shelf of paper books. In extreme cases, if you drop an e-reader off of a balcony and it shatters, you can just buy a new one and you still have all your books. On the other hand, paper books are prone to becoming worn, bent, smudged, moldy, torn, full of water marks, etc. They become damaged, decayed, and ruined over time and you can't replace them.

Look, we could go on and on about this, and every time an electronic reader will prove to be a worthy replacement for paper books. It's going to happen eventually.

[leopeek]

i have read my books already 3 times and are now in my fourth tour tru my collection

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

I still prefer real books over e-books, got me a great collection of over 3000 fantasy books in english that will go with me to thailand.

would hate it to left my first editions behind.

Sounds like a pain in the ass. Just think if you could put all those books on one device. After all, isn't the purpose of reading to actually read the books rather than glamorize about them and stare at them on a shelf?

[balo]

In about 100 years time there will be no more paper books in the world anyway as long as the technology are allowed to keep going. Books printed on paper belongs to the stoneage,

You mean something like the Magna Carta written in the early 1200s.

Books have a resale value. Ebooks don't.

Well . books will still exist but not on paper. Same with music , old vinyls looks nice in a collection but we all know they won't be around in 100 years , except in museums.

This is the future whether you like it or not.

Edited September 17, 2014 by balo

[AYJAYDEE]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

how is that thailands fault? is it any different in other countries?

[3NUMBAS]

aye thai brains are already turned to mush and little hope of a turnaround.

watch em on the subway admiring their selfies as if nothing else in the world matters ,god help em ,placebo effect at work .

matters can only get worse ,impairing their reasoning skills

[3NUMBAS]

In about 100 years time there will be no more paper books in the world anyway as long as the technology are allowed to keep going. Books printed on paper belongs to the stoneage,

You mean something like the Magna Carta written in the early 1200s.

Books have a resale value. Ebooks don't.

Well . books will still exist but not on paper. Same with music , old vinyls looks nice in a collection but we all know they won't be around in 100 years , except in museums.

This is the future whether you like it or not.

UK and US record collectors have records that are 50+ years old and they still play ok and hold their value so no doubt in another 50 years theyll stll be selling on ebay. antiquarian books are a good investment as they dont make em any more and the titles get rarer by the year and increase in value , theres no dropoff in demand from publishers in the west so paper books will still be around . look at 50 shades of grey ,its a crock of ' but sold millions

[Mister Fixit]

I always thought books were like kryptonite to Thais, apart from comic books of course

You thought wrong - data last year said that Thais were the top readers on the planet and it still has more bookshops per head of population than any other nation on earth.

Yeah, top readers of comic books and more COMIC book shops that any other nation ...