Jessa Crispin of Bookslut fame writes about the death of the traditional bookstore tour in this article from The Book Standard.

As a publisher that has launched two books in bars and one in a museum, we know what she's talking about. Bookstores that just go through the motions are missing out on a resurging interest in literature that is not readily reflected in their bottom lines. Lit blogs are flourishing; people are writing and talking more about books than I can ever remember in my 43 years on Earth. And literary types are doing more interesting things to promote their books. David Eggers and his posse but on a whole show to raise funds for 826 Valencia. Jonathan Lethem publishes a limited collection of short stories and demands that the book not be sold in stores or distributed to trade journals, magazines or newspapers. These are exciting times for publishers, and that's partly why we joined the fray.

To date, our most successful reading in terms of sales was in a bar in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans about five and a half months after the levees broke. It was — not coincidentally — also the most fun.

But a word should be said for the inspired booksellers out there (and Jessa mentions this in her piece): There is no reason bookstores can't hold exciting, interesting literary events, and many do. Follow the lead of Tom Lowenburg at Octavia Books in New Orleans (p.s.: Jason Berry is reading from Poppas there this Saturday at 6 pm) and put out a little wine and cheese to give the event the feel of a party; Janis Frame at Book Buffs in Denver provided a sushi spread for our Kuhaku reading, and the hour or so we spent there felt so much more like a conversation than a monologue. This ain't brain surgery folks — just make it fun and pay attention, because the people are reading, writing and talking about literature a lot these days.