It turns out that even Amazon can't automate a community.
The big picture: As Amazon fueled the collapse of chain bookstores, independent bookstores were quietly thriving. In the last 10 years, independent bookstores have grown by nearly 50% across the country, from 1,651 to 2,470 stores.
- Bradley Graham, a co-owner of D.C. based bookstore Politics & Prose, told Axios: "You have to attribute this renewed interest in bookstores to a sense of community, a sense of neighborhood-ness."
Special report: The future of retail
Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Bradley Graham as "a member of the famous Graham family." We apologize for the error.