i know this has nothing to do with Podcastle, but it has a lot to do with fantasy, Sci-Fi, and horror. The Other Change of Hobbit, an absolutely iconic bookstore that opened in Berkeley, CA 38 years ago today gas been out of business for a year ago but still struggling and visible on social media. They were living money and had to start taking subscriptions and still went under. In Berkeley. What does this say about the high art of storytelling? Is it that it's all free now and the glut and mediocrity of the market means nobody will psych for the good stuff? Is there no "good stuff" anymore?" Is there a market for stories that fall outside the YA market? Why aren't genre books being published that do more than entertain, amuse, and distract? What is being produced today that will speak to readers in fifty years or that will become timeless. I mourn the loss of the Other Change of Hobbit because these kinds of stores have always been hubs of culture and the exchange of ideas, not just places to buy things that can now be purchased without ever leaving our keyboards. Just an old fart prattling here but somebody has to salute at times like this.