Uh, where are you seeing "Rust for Rustaceans" and "The Art of 64-Bit Assembly" at a Barnes & Noble? I just wandered into a B&N store in Cupertino after shopping at a Guitar Center, and their technology section was basically a shelf of Excel guides and XYZ for Dummies.

I'm actually surprired there's a narrative of "B&N is coming back." Their stores, what few times I've had the misfortune of wandering inside in recent years, are still excruciatingly beige, useless, and (in the words of the TLA) "crucifyingly boring."