There was a time in the not too distant past when Barnes & Noble was considered the chief foe of independent booksellers. Well, times change and the manuscript has been flipped. A relationship that could once be found in the war stories section is now perched snugly among the romance novels. What changed? Amazon for one thing. OK, Amazon for all things. The enemy of my enemy is my friend and, these days, Barnes & Noble is part of the terrestrial team trying to draw a line in the ampersand and keep print books in vogue. “Buying a book you’re looking for online is easy. You search. You click. You buy. What’s lost in that process are the accidental finds … No one has quite figured out how to replicate that kind of incidental discovery online. It makes bookstores hugely important not only for readers but also for all but the biggest-name writers, as well as for agents and publishers of all sizes.” And because Barnes & Noble is the biggest shop in town (and often the only shop in town), it’s suddenly a vital force for good. NYT (Gift Article): How Barnes & Noble Went From Villain to Hero.