Over the years, I saw the variety of titles that made Borders unique dwindle- I knew Arkham Houses on the shelf were too good to be true! Still, I found some surprises, "discovering" authors and titles that made me look at the world differently long after I closed the book. In hindsight, this diminishment of selection was an early indication of what was going on with Borders. I was concerned when they struggled with debt last year, but hey, it was a national trend. When Mike Edwards, the CEO of the company, sent an email to every Borders customer two months ago to announce the company was throwing in the towel, I was heartbroken.
Anytime there is one less place for people to experience the serendipitous discovery of a book, it's a cause to mourn. Brick and mortar stores may not be able to beat Amazon's prices, but gone is the joy of browsing, of cracking open the book to the table of contents or flipping to the pictures or reading the first few sentences to see if the author's voice resounds in your head.
Here's two photos of my local Borders, the first taken at the beginning of summer, the second taken last weekend. It was sad to see the store change into something strange, a shell of itself.
What a great post, Felt. I totally agree--there is something really special about a good bookstore, and a lot of it is the possibility of that serendipitous discovery, (and you're totally right about the quality arc of Borders' inventory--I watched that same slow dwindling of their off-the-beaten-path offerings).
ReplyDeleteWhile I try to buy all my comics and comic-oriented books from independent comic shops, for regular books I've tried to avoid the price-break temptation of Amazon and buy the majority from brick-and-mortar stores likes Borders or B&N (or indy shops when possible). I even ponied-up for the Bonus Plus Membership in the hopes of helping them stave off bankruptcy. This strategy was working pretty well until they started closing!
Let's hope B&N can hold on.