Laredo, TX loses its only bookstore and the nearest one (chain or independent) will be 150 miles away. Newark, NJ has only one independent bookstore for 288,000 residents. While I think a lot of people are buying books online or at Wal-Mart, I’m still sort of surprised by this. As the article mentions, bookstores have the potential to be a cultural center of the community. Without independent (or even big chain) bookstores, a city loses a place for educated folks to gather and talk about books. I wonder how Laredo’s libraries are doing?