Bookstores had a really bad week — at least in the world of blog punditry, where three industry figures I admire posted their takes on why bookstores as we know them are doomed. Seth Godin, in fact, goes further and says that books are dead too. Here’s a little reading for you:

The death of bookstores is a bigger problem for print books than ebooks

In a post titled “An industry pining for bookstores” over at the Scholarly Kitchen, management consultant Joseph Esposito writes, “With bookstores collapsing everywhere, the print business collapses along with it.” As bookstores close, Esposito argues, readers have fewer places to discover print books. Instead, he says, they learn about titles online — through Twitter, Goodreads, or Amazon pages. When it comes time to order the book, they have two options: A cheaper digital version or a more expensive print version. “Why pay for…