{"id":10837,"date":"2017-03-04T05:01:14","date_gmt":"2017-03-04T13:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/as-amazon-moves-in-a-local-bookseller-hopes-to-thrive-with-a-personal-touch\/"},"modified":"2017-03-04T05:01:14","modified_gmt":"2017-03-04T13:01:14","slug":"as-amazon-moves-in-a-local-bookseller-hopes-to-thrive-with-a-personal-touch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/as-amazon-moves-in-a-local-bookseller-hopes-to-thrive-with-a-personal-touch\/","title":{"rendered":"As Amazon Moves In, A Local Bookseller Hopes To Thrive With A Personal Touch"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Zeninjor Enwemeka<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Peter Reynolds, owner of Blue Bunny Books in Dedham, Mass., says he hopes the unique atmosphere will keep customers coming to independent bookstores like his.<\/p>\n

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Robin Lubbock\/WBUR<\/p>\n

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Robin Lubbock\/WBUR<\/p>\n

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When Amazon comes to town to sell books from a bricks-and-mortar store of its own, what happens to a neighborhood bookstore nearby?<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the online retailer opened a 5,800-square-foot store<\/a> in Dedham, Mass. \u2014 the company’s first bookstore on the East Coast. The suburban Boston store joins Amazon’s three other locations<\/a> on the West Coast.<\/p>\n

Amazon \u2014 which started out by selling only books \u2014 has been the major reason that many traditional brick-and-mortar bookstores have struggled and even shut down.<\/p>\n

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As many people started going online to buy books, major book retailer Borders went out of business<\/a>, while Barnes & Noble has closed stores over the years. Independent bookstores have struggled as well.<\/p>\n

Just about a mile up the road from the new bookstore in Dedham is Blue Bunny Books<\/a>, an independent bookstore that specializes in children’s books. Store owner Peter Reynolds, a children’s book author, said he was a little worried when he heard Amazon was moving into town.<\/p>\n

“Oh, yes. The minute that the news came out, I got hundreds of emails from friends and fans across the country and the world saying, ‘Hey we just heard Amazon is moving up the street,’ ” Reynolds said. “And at first my heart sort of sunk a bit, but I realized quickly the response from our friends was what you have in your independent bookstore is very, very different than what Amazon is providing, and I think that we’re going to be OK.”<\/p>\n

Blue Bunny Books has been around for about 14 years and also offers online sales and a coffee shop in store.<\/p>\n