As ebooks have eroded the print book market, bookstores, havens for peace and fountains of wisdom, are struggling to survive. Nowadays, bookstores make money in two ways - selling gifts or maintaining their distinctiveness for targeted customers. In Madrid's Pasadizo de San Ginés, the 400-year-old bookstore has become a tourist landmark, lined with postcards and souvenirs. In Beijing, the All Sages Bookstore has focused on classic and scholarly publications since it opened in 1993. To maintain the essential values ignited by reading print books, Germany's government is legislating to protect publishers from being ousted by algorithms. The country had 4,400 bookstores in 2024, and 96 percent of Germans aged between 20 and 29 in 2025 preferred physical books. However, in China, many small bookstores have closed forever.
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