Barnes & Noble, founded in 1873 by Charles M. Barnes as a humble bookstore in the Chicago suburbs, has since evolved into the big-box bookstore equivalent of that friend who always wants to be “helpful” at a dinner party. Known for its vast labyrinth of bookshelves and café-driven distractions, it became a retail juggernaut in the 1990s by pioneering the concept of mega-bookstores where you could spend an entire afternoon sipping overpriced coffee while browsing volumes you’ll never read. However, the advent of digital reading and Amazon's relentless market expansion turned it into a tragicomic figure of the book world. In a desperate bid for relevance, it introduced the Nook e-reader, only to see it struggle against Kindle’s iron grip. In recent years, it has oscillated between bankruptcy rumors and salvation stories, currently valued around $1 billion after its 2019 acquisition by hedge fund Elliott Management. Despite its noble attempts to preserve the sanctity of physical bookstores amid the e-book revolution, its legacy is a parade of half-hearted revamps and a nostalgic echo of better days. Under the leadership of CEO James Daunt, Barnes & Noble is trying to regain its footing, like a bookstore that insists on being relevant in a world increasingly indifferent to physical pages.
