With the news that Borders filed for bankruptcy, I started thinking about the Borders that I went to when I was younger, back when a giant huge bookstore was a luxury I’d never experienced. There were fireplaces! And big huge chairs! And more books than I’d ever seen in my life, and the employees were friendly as opposed to condescending like the people in the local bookstore near my house who never had any good chapter books for kids.
Colleen Lindsay was saying that if the local Borders near her brother’s home closes, there won’t be a bookstore for 35 miles. As part of their bankruptcy, Borders will likely close 200 stores, which means a lot of people will lose their bookstore.
UPDATE: This is a link to a PDF of all the Borders stores scheduled to close.
Meanwhile, last Sunday, my husband wanted to take our younger son to the library, only to find that due to budget cuts it was closed – despite the website listing it as open that day. So, since my younger son is 3 and he wanted BOOKS PLEASE DADDY, they went to Barnes and Noble. It was a horrible shopping trip because the books were a marginal focus, since the minute you step in the door it was TOYS TOYS TOYS. Hubby said he wouldn’t take the kids back there again because it was so unpleasant, and books were not the focus. Toys and games and gifts were.
The floorplan of big bookstores is changing to include things other than books. Yesterday, at Tools of Change (larger entry about the conference coming, yes, with drinking game since I’m sure many people need it), the Indie bookseller panel was asked about what will happen when Borders goes bankrupt or closes some if not all of their stores.
Their answer was, it will leave a hole, and a smart bookseller can help fill it, through doing what those indie booksellers already do: building communities locally and online, and offering something unique that’s more than just selling books. Now, these indies, Greenlight Books and WORDBrooklyn, are among my favorites because they are familiar and curious about romance fiction (as opposed to some Indie folks who look at the genre and at romance readers as if we carry some papercut-inducing disease, as I’ve heard from some readers).
But there is room for the hole left by Borders to be filled, as they put it.
So let me ask you, as a reader: where is your nearest bookstore? Do you shop there? Do you have a Borders near you, and do you shop there? If your store closes, does it affect you? And what could a physical bookstore do to lure you as a customer now?
And to Borders employees who face job loss: I’m so sorry this is happening.
We have 4 Borders’ stores and 2 Borders’ Expresses on Oahu in both tourist and residental areas.
We have 2 B/N (split between tourist and residential), 2 Walmarts, 1 Target, and 4 military exchanges who discount books 25% plus no tax.
My nearest bookshop is in a mall and it’s a measly excuse for recycling paper. It gives me the creeps to be honest. I study in Zurich (Yes, Switzerland) which is about an hour from where I live and when I visit a bookstore it’s one from Orell Füssli, the biggest book store chain here. A) They have an entire store (3 floors) of English books in Zurich – I prefer to read books in the language they’re written in and let’s face it, the selection is just a little bit bigger;) B) because they’re awesome. C) student discounts/point card. They also have good service and can give you advice on what to read as opposed to the local bookstore.
Damnit. There goes my only bookstore. Now I have to drive 20 minutes away to get something or pay shipping and handling or WAIT. Bleh.
As a teacher this sucks. Having a Boarders right by me (it sucked yes, never had anything I wanted in my personal collection) was great for getting extra copies of novels for my students and informational books for me.
Bleh I say!
I’m a former Borders employee. I didn’t lose my job due to the closings, I lost it because I needed knee surgery. Or, really, I had the audacity to need time to recover from the surgery that didn’t involve standing for hours at a time. So they never gave me my hours back when I was cleared to return.
I’m not even going to try to claim that I’m not bitter, because I’m still ripshit over it.
As a result, I will, upon occasion go into my old store and visit (I adored the majority of my co-workers), but I don’t shop there anymore. For one thing, I got the job to pay for my book habit. The last time I shopped at Borders, I got $10 in Borders Bucks as a “please come back” gambit, and I spent less than a dollar over the Borders Bucks. (My Old store is not on the list of closures, which is good- it’s the Boston flagship store in downtown and the B&N down the street closed about 4 years ago. There would be a significant void.)
And, I can tell you that the managerial missteps of the company were pretty awful- this didn’t just happen, this was a very long time in coming. It sucks, because the people who are going to pay for this mistake- the ground level employees and the customers- aren’t the ones who made them. We hear about the bonuses the execs get, and it’s disgusting that they’re getting a windfall while the bills aren’t getting paid.
Yeah. Totally bitter.
I know what you mean about the toys at B&N. Borders isn’t much better in that regard—I’ve been roped into buying Legos there as well—at least the last time I was there they had a coupon in the store for a toy purchase.
The closest bookstore to my house is a large independent which I would rate as excellent if you’re looking for anything other than genre fiction. They’ll stock some YA paranormal romance but that’s about it. I mostly buy books for gifts there—usually literary fiction and cookbooks. But I miss the Borders that used to be across the street from the indie bookstore. It’s been gone for six years or so. In fact, for a while there was another little bookstore next to the Borders that sold new agey books where I’d always find great gifts. Three bookstores on one block! Sigh, those were the days.
We were able to enjoy Borders for only a few years in the UK. There was an excellent large branch in Oxford Street, in London’s West End, and I really miss it. The W.H.Smith chain, which sells newspapers, stationery, CDs/DVDs and all sorts of stuff and is found in most British high streets, is pretty useless for books, and Waterstones, though theoretically a bookshop chain, leaves much to be desired as well.
And now our splendid public libraries, which have educated and entertained British children and adults for generations, are under serious threat because of the severe cuts that the coalition government is imposing on local authority funding. Gloom and despondency all round.
🙁
Thanks for the update. I was actually able to give my coworker the bad news that her husband’s Borders store is closing. Not a huge surprise that updating the WSJ was more important than updating their store managers.
I’ve been a Barnes & Noble customer for as long as I can remember, primarily due to ease of access. But within the last two years they’ve closed the two most convenient locations for me in NYC which led to a significant drop off in my purchases and led me to shift to primarily library books (well, until the NYPL was forced to cut back on hours so that there is only 1 day a week I can actually get there). I got a nook to basically compensate for the inaccessibility of the stores now. It’s a strange chicken/egg conundrum.
Given the decline of the big box bookstores, I’m really going to focus on finding a good indie bookstore. While buying online from bn.com is convenient (especially given the frequent same-day delivery in Manhattan and my membership discount), I really miss the tangible experience of shopping for books. Especially since so many books and backlist titles are not available as ebooks.
@Carrie S.
I guess the comfy chair thing depends on who’s using them. We have a very large transient population and they take over. They take over everything in San Francisco. They take over the parks, the sidewalks, the bus stops, the libraries, the outdoor tables and chairs at Starbucks, etc.
I try to be kind, but at some point you realize this so-freaking-open-minded-my-brain-fell-out-ages-ago attitude around here just does not work. Borders declares bankruptcy today, the entire city of San Francisco tomorrow. Next week: the rest of California.
I guess I’m just homesick. I love cities, but I don’t like this one as much as I’m supposed to. I’m tired of human feces and urine all over the place, loose-cannon crazy people setting fires willy-nilly, slacker losers smoking pot openly on every street, the cigarette butts everywhere from all those moronic, unwashed Academy of Art students…the list is endless. This is the dirtiest city I’ve ever been in, and it’s a shame because it’s the prettiest in many, many ways.
I just miss New York and the east coast. I miss smart people. I miss clean people, damn it. I miss seasons. I miss bookstores that sell books and not just socialist rants.
Yes, I’m having a really bad day. And it’s only 9 am. ~sigh~
Closest? B&N. Do I shop there? No. There’s a Borders which is (or can be) on my way between my offices where I do most of my shopping. Friendlier, warmer, better selection, good mochas, great hot chocolate. I haven’t checked, but I’m pretty sure it’s not on the closure list since it’s across the street from Woodfield – for those not in the know, the largest purely retail space east of the Mississippi. Lucky me.
spamword: issue 49. And I can think of 49 issues I would have with Borders closing – number one being the closest indy is 45 minutes away. It’s really, really nice, but still…
I have a borders and barnes and noble very close by to my house. But I also have a lil old used bookstore that takes trade ins,and will order anything I need,plus take my trade ins and use that towards my other purchases…which is awesome!! I love Borders and hopfully they don’t close by me. But one thing is for sure…..I hate Barnes and Noble…..no matter what I will not go there unless I have to like for my son’s reading needs,etc! Just never liked that place. So if border closes,I will use the lil ole corner used bookshop,or Amazon plus I just got a kindle,so I have a feeling I won’t be going to the bookstore as much…….love my kindle!
I live in Tampa, FL. This is NOT a small city. Depending on the time of day/traffic, my nearest dedicated bookstores are the B&N 15 minutes north of me and the Borders and a second B&N 20 minutes to the southwest of me. The Borders and 2nd B&N are within 5 minutes of each other, and within 5 minutes of a used bookstore I sometimes visit. There are several Walmarts, Targets, and grocery stores between me and the dedicated bookstores (and, yes, I have been known to spend $50 or more for books in each of them simply because it was convenient and/or they were open).
I’ve been able to find two indie bookstores that don’t have a primary focus on comics and RPGs. The two I’ve found are both in an area that is difficult for me to get to. When I’ve managed to get to the stores (and they’re not closed during posted “open” hours) parking is so bad that in the two plus years I’ve been aware of them, I’ve STILL not been inside either store, despite wanting to support them.
If “my” Borders closes, I’ll lose my primary source for buying and browsing books. For instant gratification purchases and hours of browsing, I prefer Borders. For internet purchases, I prefer B&N. I’d rather find another book or pay more elsewhere than buy from Amazon ever again.
What could a physical store do to lure me (a person preferring to browse and hang out in bookstores to begin with)? Sell more books, less all that other stuff. Some of that other stuff is great, especially at the holidays, but I go to bookstores for books. Stop playing music/in-store commercials so loud that I can’t hear myself think and have to leave the store or develop a headache. Chairs are always awesome, especially when my knee is swollen but I’m letting my teenage daughter shop. Ample parking that’s accessible.
I clicked on the PDF and found out that my neighborhood Borders is scheduled to close.
To say I’m fucking heartbroken is the understatement of the year.
I’ve been going to this Borders for over 10 years. It’s where I went after I lost my virginity (yes, I’m that much of a nerd). It’s where I went for a little comfort reading after losing my job. Hell, it’s where I went for a JOB after I lost my job (and they hired me as a seasonal, which really helped when I needed the extra money). Even now, my friend and I will go there to browse after we have coffee, or before we go to the indie movie theatre across the street. It’s a cool place—there are more tchotchkes than there used to be, but still a ton of books (including good romance and YA sections), and a very friendly staff, some of whom I worked with several years ago.
There’s a B&N near my office (my neighborhood B&N closed a few years ago), and I do go there often on my lunch breaks to the cafe, but I really try to keep my purchases at Borders. I live in a neighborhood with several used booksellers, but one store is very messy and the other has a really unfriendly owner. Plus, often I want a certain book, and you can’t really go into a used bookstore with that expectation.
One of the Borders in our city (which I also frequented) recently closed and it hurt me. This is really, really hurting me. I’m a geek for Borders, I always loved that there was one in my neighborhood, and it’s going to kill me to see them go.
I always wondered how those huge superstores could be profitable considering the overhead costs. My all-time favorite bookstore was a B.Dalton that was in a mall location- it wasn’t much bigger than my first apartment but the stock was great and the two ladies that managed it were the best booksellers I have ever known. I liked B&N and Borders but what has kept me out of their stores over the last few years is that they would not stock new releases the day they came out. And that to me is just dumb, dumb, dumb as most hardcore readers will stalk their favorite bookstores to get their new releases now. So for the last few years Amazon.com has gotten my book business. They always have stuff in stock and I’ve gotten used to waiting a day or two for shipments. And most of the independant bookstores I’ve run into have had no stock in terms of romance and their staff were like cold cups of coffee. I feel terrible for the Borders store closings and all those people out of work but in the end, Borders has no one to blame but themselves. It’s not just about looking pretty and shiny- for a business to survive you got to have what people want to buy and the service to match.
It seems no Borders stores in Omaha/Papillion are closing. This does not surprise me—there are always quite few peeps in the two locations. I shop there from time to time since they send me really great coupons and don’t make me pay for a membership. We have a couple indie stores, mostly Christian or Catholic bookstores. We have one plain ole bookstore and they have many more author events than the chain stores, so that does sometimes bring me in.
Like Lisa, I live in the Portland area, so Powell’s is the big bookstore presence here. There’s a large B&N three miles from my house, and I’ve reserved a new release to pick up at their front check out a few times. That’s been very convenient. No Borders really close to me, but when I visit family, I usually stop in at the one in Eugene. My main paper book source has become an exchange half a mile from my house. I take in my non-keepers, get credit, then pick up anything that catches my eye for a fifty cent transaction fee. I also stop by Target sometimes to get a new release or two at the 25% discount.
My house is small, so going the ebook route has been a godsend, storage-wise. I love reading on my iPad, but am praying it didn’t just lose a lot of its value yesterday with Apple’s subscription announcement.
I’m a BN employee. I’m here for the books—I know books, I love them, I can recommend titles and series at the drop of a hat, and I have even, occasionally, been able to figure out a book from a customer’s description of “It was red? And there was a woman on the cover? And I know I saw it in here about a year ago?”
But, as sad and annoyed as it makes me, things are changing. As much as some of us like to shop in brick-and-mortar stores, people who need to save money will choose Amazon over a bookstore if it means the book is cheaper. I field at least three calls a day that end with “Well, thanks, but it’s cheaper online. Never mind.” We need to bring people into the stores, and that means carrying more things like games and teaching supplies and electronics.
Another factor is the Nook. I like them. I have one. But if people are buying their e-books, they’re not buying them from the store. The company will get the profit, but the physical store loses out. My store—which is in a good location visited regularly by shoppers from three states—sells a lot of Nooks, but the money from those sales is not making up for the hundreds and hundreds of physical books that people are no longer purchasing from us. So the company has started focusing less on books and more on other things in an effort to turn a profit, which frustrates customers who want to shop in a bookstore.
And needless to say, less profit in a brick-and-mortar store means less payroll time, which means fewer employees, which means customers complaining about the lack of service and deciding to buy off Amazon instead. When I started at this store three years ago, I was easily working 35-40 hours a week. In the last year, my average weekly hours went down to 25. Next week, the most they can give me is 16, half of which will be spent at the Nook kiosk.
If the two Borders near me close, it might bring in more customers. But I will mainly be terrified that this is a sign of my future, and in a few years even BN will fall to e-books and cheap online shopping. Plus, to be honest, Seattle’s Best coffee beats Starbucks by a mile.
Closest bookstore: Borders within walking distance at mall. Do I go there?: Rarely. Why?: It’s not about the books anymore. People of all ages hang out there, drinking coffee, using computers, making out in the big easy chairs, making a total mess of the merchandise. I always preferred its little sibling, WaldenBooks, but most of them have already closed.
Will bookstores come back?: I just don’t know. Since I bought a Kindle in Feb 09, I have not purchased a hardcopy novel. I get my non fiction from Amazon and its online partners. I used to visit a used paperbook bookstore that’s still in business, but it’s been years.
I live in Maine, which has always been unloved by the big chains. Four Borders and one B&N for the entire state. This meant our small instate bookstore chain has managed to survive. The closest bookstore to me is 2 miles and it is one of the small chain. It is tiny and even they have resorted to a selection of calendars, cards, and garden ornaments. The second closest is a used bookstore that has “whenever the owner feels like it” hours. The closest chain store is the lone B&N and it is a 20 minute highway drive away. The four Borders are at least an hour away on the highway. The one I sometimes frequent isn’t great. The floors always seem dusty and the chairs ripped and they never have enough clerks working to keep there from being a long line to check out. It does seem to keep more varied stock than the B&N.
This is so sad! When I lived in Davis, Borders was my bookstore of choice—the staff recommended some of my now-favorite series to me. Right now (I’ve moved), the closest book store is over an hour a way—-And I’m not even in the boonies.
Amazon to the rescue…but no lovely book smell upon entering a shop 🙁
Well, crap. Just checked the list of stores Borders is closing and they’re closing my store. Also closing the other store I drive (45 minutes) to. That leaves one small store that has never had anything I’ve been looking for.
My heart goes out to all the employees this is going to hurt.
In the same shopping area, I have a Borders, BN and Half-Price Books. I shop at all 3, but Borders has always been my preference since I grew up near the original in Ann Arbor. I’m not thrilled with Borders “new” (3 years or so) mall store—parking sucks, etc—but it gets a lot of foot traffic, which may be why it’s staying open.
If it were to close? I’d be very sad and shop at the other two stores. Seattle, a bit to the north, has a large indie chain, but they’re super-anti-romance, so they aren’t really an option for most things I want.
I live about 15 to 20 minutes from Borders and BN. The BN nearest me closed in December. Yeah, BN. It was the anchor store for the shopping center. But there are still 2 BN nearby.
I prefer to not pay full price for something I may only read once, and I don’t like ebooks, so I’m really glad there are 3 Half Price Books stores on my way to work and within 20 mins of my home. For books I must have now, I have Amazon (paid for Prime membership), and I like their 4 for 3 on notbrandnewmmpreleases.
The nearby Borders where my critque group meets is not on the list for closure (whew…they have such a nice cafe area and we’d rather meet where we can shop after critting than at a plain coffee shop without books).
I agree with the assessment of B&N having a lot of toys, especially in the kids section. Our Borders has a bit of that too, but I think they’ve actually shrunk the junk section in the last year or two, or at least moved books closer to the front of the store.
I live in a good-sized metro area and though several of the Borders are closing, there are still plenty to go around (and a sprinkling of B&N’s and maybe 2 or 3 indies that haven’t been run out of town).
I haven’t bought a physical book for myself since I got my Kindle in spring 2009. While I used to browse my local Barnes & Noble, in college The Tattered Cover was Mecca. It’s shrinking in size and moved from their old Cherry Creek building.
I don’t actually miss the bookstores. I love my Kindle and buying ebooks. The only thing I could see that I would still want is: a good ambiance for reading and other readers. So really my needs could be met with a good coffee shop: one with “sink into me” chairs and couches, a fireplace, good low volume music, yummy cheesecake, and quiet spots. Not the B&N coffee shops with hard seats and little tables. It would be even better if they had table service, provided snuggle-ly blankets if you want to wrap up on the couch, and hosted book group meetings.
So goodbye bookstores and hello reading lounges?
The nearest Borders to me right now is over 5 miles away in a shopping center I do not enjoy traveling to, nor do I do much shopping there. I usually frequent the Barnes and Noble that’s less than 2 miles away when I’m going to a brick-and-mortar store.
However, my past 3 years were spent in the San Fernando Valley at a community college just down the street from a Borders and my study groups used to meet there all the time. In addition, the mall closer to my mom’s house had a Borders as well, and that’s where I spent most of my book money before I had a Kindle, and when I didn’t want to wait for Amazon to ship things.
Sadly, the two times I have used Borders.com to order books, I endured looooong wait times (I ordered a book from Amazon on the same day—that one arrived 2 days later, the Borders book took over 9 days; “standard shipping” on each) and in the second case my order was lost entirely and had to be redone. I waited over 2 months for that paperback. It wasn’t worth it.
I do feel bad for the people who are losing their jobs in the real stores, but I can’t say I’m sorry that the corporation as a whole is going under. Their online customer service is terrible.
The Borders I have shopped at for years is on the list. This is sad because there really isn’t another bookstore in that area and the employees at the store are great. Thankfully another one that I shop at was spared. There’s a BN by me, but I never had nearly the success at shopping at BN. The selection seems limited (and full of toys).
Guess this means I’ll be spending even more money on Amazon.
There is a Borders near me but it is not at all convenient to bus riders. I USED to spend about $50 a pay period at the downtown Brentanos which was part of Borders but the asshat that runs the downtown mall decided he wanted his mall to focus on boutiques and restaurants. Now no one shops there at all and hood-rats abound.
That Brentanos closed about 4 years ago this May and I have shopped exclusivly online at Amazon and ebay or such. This solidified my need for a Kindle and I now shop online almost exclusively. With infrequent purchases made at WalMart, Target or even Walgreens if they have the book I want. And I ONLY buy paper books of authors that are already established with me and I’m invested in their series. Everyone else is digital now.
When we lived in Austin, I used to visit Borders a bit, but eventually B&N won me over with comfy chairs. Now that we live in the Hudson Valley, the closest borders is across the river, so we visit the B&N in the mall. What I miss about B&N is the comfy chairs; they’ve switched to wood and it’s like being at a school desk again. I understand the logistics behind encouraging customer turnover in the store, but I would LOVE to find a store with a lot of comfortable book reading places.
Bookstores can lure me with lots of things. A romance specific bookstore would make my heart turn over.
The Borders where I work is one of the survivors, although for how long is anybody’s guess. The games and other stuff tend to be at the back of our store: the first thing you see when you enter the store (other than the Kobo display) are displays of books. The focus is still on books at our store, which I like. And our staff is friendly and knowledgeable about books (I liked Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – who’s like that?) and other things. We’ve got a huge romance selection – anybody want romance books, come in to store 557 in Brighton, MI!
There’s a B&N closer to me, but as a genre fiction reader I’ve never felt welcome there. The staff seem to be unhappy and sullen, at least the few times I’ve been in there.
There are no independent book stores that sell romance anywhere around that I’ve been able to find.
If my store closes, I’ll probably do all my shopping at Amazon.
Double crap. Found a sortable list of the closings and apparently they’re closing ALL the stores in this area.
Link to the sortable list can be found here: http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/02/16/is-borders-closing-a-store-near-you-heres-the-full-list/
For brand new books, I have Hastings and Walmart in town. If those weren’t here, it would probably be at least 40 miles to the next place to get new books. Even with those two stores, the selection isn’t always the best for some of the genres and formats I read, so I end up doing almost all my new book shopping (except for Harlequins) online, where I have the benefit of a larger selection and the ability to shop around for good deals. If I go to a store to buy books, I’m usually going to a used bookstore.
Less than a year ago, I opened a gift shop that happens to sell books (about 1/3 to 1/2 of our inventory at any one time is books). It was a strange idea and people still come into the shop and say, “What kind of shop is this?” My concept is that books ARE gifts (for yourself or for others), and if you shop in lovely, curated boutiques that stock unique gifts, why not also have a carefully chosen selection of books to choose from? Who wouldn’t like to get a wonderful book as a gift?
It was and is a strange notion and a bit of a gamble. But at Christmas time, we nearly sold out of books. Cookbooks; romances; fiction; travel; nonfiction… all very nearly sold out. Turns out I was right! People were tired of going into Borders and finding a million books and crappy “gifts” and having no idea what might be right for them.
I do another weird thing: sell the books at the price the publisher has printed on the jacket. That’s how much the book costs and that’s the price on which my wholesale price is based (sometimes the Amazon prices are only a buck or too more than the price the publisher charges me!). So I think Borders closing is party of an overall trend: folks are looking for a personal, curated book buying experience and are willing to pay for it. Cool, huh?
The only sucky thing is that publishers are still operating like it’s 1983 and it’s almost impossible for me to special order stuff. Luckily, there’s a Borders-esque independent bookstore down the road I can send people to when my shop is out of something!
Closest Borders for us here is in Arlington, which is two hours away. However, for us, it is worth the drive once a while (about once every few months) since we combine it with a trip to Half Price Books. Tyler TX does have a B&N, but it is fairly limited in some selections. And for some reason, they have become a little less friendly (they have removed a lot of the comfortable sitting for instance). There is a Hastings in town, but it is mostly used stuff (not all very good) and even more limited (even more unfriendly. They took out all their sitting furniture except for a random chair or two). The couple of indies are pretty much pathetic second hand buyers. In other words, options here are pretty limited.
I’d miss Borders in the sense that usually I find better selection of things we actually read, but as it is not close, not as big a deal I suppose.
As for the public library here, it barely stays open as it is. Not well funded. Collections in a lot of areas woefully out of date. But once in a while they have something in. Point is, in our case, we have to do a lot of effort to find the good stuff.
(Unless you are a right winger. In that case, every bookstore will cater for your need for Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, etc. to your heart’s content).
Best, and keep on blogging.
I will miss my Borders. I have to independent bookstores locally that had been there longer than Borders, but their romance selection sucks and they are very snobby about it. I tried really hard to like/use the independent bookstores but I got so much attitude the times I tried to special order or ask any sort of question. Amazon/paperback swap will get my business now, especially since my local library is being closed.
I feel bad. I used to buy from borders a lot but once I got a Kindle I purchased from Amazon. I like them so much more than Barnes and Noble.
Our nearest bookstore (not counting Christian bookstores) is a Barnes and Noble. It is a nice store, with more books than toys, I would say, and nice, knowledgeable staffers.
Sadly enough, the two independents I grew up with have both closed. They are missed; they were good stores.
My easily-able-to-walk-to-it Borders is on the closing list.
The dog will miss the spur of the moment late evening walks to get a new book as much as I will. (I refuse to buy an e-reader until they sort out the format wars. I can e-read on my iPhone or my computer if I need to but I still prefer paper.) I have a B&N that I do not like as much about a 10 minute drive away. The few indie bookstores around here tend to be snobby stores where they sneer at popular fiction and are focused on one topic that does not interest me.
I suppose I will get used to the B&N as I use it more.
My Borders here is one of the stores on the closing list. The only other bookstore near me is the B&N at the mall, but their romance section is pitiful.
I will continue to shop at Borders.com. But there are times you just want a new release “today!” and since they don’t ship until release day, I find I usually get the books the following Monday. Oh well, that’s the “price” I will pay.
@library addict –
That is the biggest problem I have with the nearest B&N in Union Sq. The Romance section is not only pitiful, but it’s hidden in the far back of the store in something that can barely qualify as an aisle. If someone else is in there browsing, you can’t walk past them! If they wanted to make someone feel embarrassed about buying Romance, this definitely does the trick. My favorite location that closed a few months ago had their Romance section in a great space next to windows with lots of light, plenty of chairs, etc. I feel like a second class citizen in the other one, that I’ve basically given up buying any Romance there.
@redgirl – ha! My husband used to work at the Borders in Davis! Sadly, he hated working there. I still love my Borders but my heart broke beyond repair when I went to the Folsom branch in search of a science book and found only a sad, tiny section labeled Pets/Science. My other Borders has a sad, tiny science section tucked behind the Religion/NewAge shelf. Sad, sad, sad.
fear44 – I feared the end days would arrive in only 44 minutes but it seems to be taking longer.