No doubt there are 'nudges', to use the term for psychological tricks to guide behaviour popularised by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, that would get more people buying more books in more bookstores. But alas, I can only offer here links to two articles which treat these two ubjects separately.

One is a review of Nudge  by Laurence Mead. Sadly the reviewer uses it as an economist-bashing opportunity rather than a consideration of the idea of nudging, although he does in fact point out the limitations of the evidence about its effectiveness.

The other is an interesting article in today's FT by the excellent Jonathan Guthrie, about the resilience of bookselling despite the recession and the slow spread of e-books. (The FT has made me sign up every time I try to go to the website – I can never remember by login and password – so you might need to register to read this, but it's free.) I've had an interest in bookselling ever since being on the Competition Commission inquiry into the merger of Waterstones and Ottakars; this column chimes with my anecdotal impression about the health of the independent bookstores I visit, such as the marvellous Daunt Books, Stanfords in Convent Garden, and the extraordinary institution of Foyles. I'm not sure about the appeal of e-books though – especially as I head off for a week's holiday by a swimming pool. Do they survive being splashed and having sunscreen dribbled onto them?