Barnes & Noble Wants to Become More Than Books

When Ron Boire was growing up on a dairy farm in upstate New York, helping out around the property for $2 an hour, he saw new books as an out-of-reach luxury. “We didn’t have any money, and my mother was a voracious reader,” he said. “I remember telling a friend, when I grow up, I want to be able to afford hardcover books.” Mr. Boire, who took the helm as chief executive of Barnes & Noble in September, still seems to have a soft spot for physical books.