For 7 years (consecutive) the Libraries Day, and the chosen day is today, November 10th. The booksellers of all Spain want to make today a party with which they want to remember that a book is always an excellent acquisition and that the best place to do it is, without a doubt, a bookstore.
There are many bookstores throughout Spain that have joined this initiative, not only opening their doors as every day, but also organizing large diversity of activities such as group readings, storytelling for the little ones, workshops, concerts and even contests. If you want to know what activity is scheduled for today in your city, do it in this link.
The current situation of bookstores
It is known by all, it is no secret, that bookstores is not the haunted place it used to be. Why? We assume that there are several reasons, is not just one: the high price of most books (only the paperback ones that are somewhat cheaper are saved), the appearance of the ebook, the increasingly terrifying lack of interest in reading of people in general and more specifically of the young public, the trade online and the large number of virtual stores in which we can already buy books with just a couple of 'clicks' (Amazon, Fnac, Casa del Libro, etc.) ... As we can see, there may be many reasons that have caused bookstores to be rarely visited today, to the point that many have either had to reinvent themselves (doing activities more playful and especially focused on the readings of the little ones) or they have had to close their doors, unfortunately.
It is true that it can be much more comfortable to look at our computer or mobile screen and select the book or books we want in one of the many virtual stores. After a few days it is usually at our home and almost always in good condition ... But, is it not preferable to take a walk, go to one of these usual bookstores, look at the books, touch them, see their cover closely, read their synopsis and have a chat with the owner of the store to see what he thinks of that particular book? For me, the latter is much more preferable. I'm not saying that I have never ordered books online, what's more, I have my e-book. But where you can put a physical book and the closeness of the people who deal with them daily ... Let the online purchase be removed!
Let's not let the bookstores that have always been there continue to die ...