Our little town south of Nashville lost Border’s a little over a year ago, and now we’re losing our discount book store, the one by Kroger, the one with really interesting books that weren’t bestsellers and that are dirt cheap.
We still have a Barnes & Noble, which is nice, but walk in, and the first thing you see is a big display of Nooks, the company’s e-reader-slash-Android tablet, which I think seems like an obvious bit of foreshadowing. It’s like going to see a romantic movie, and, soon after meeting the love of her life, the wispy heroine develops a nagging cough that she says is just a cold; you know how the story is going to end. (Hint: It’s not just a cold.)
I’m really sorry to see the bargain bookstore close. It wasn’t the greatest bookstore ever. It didn’t have a lot of character. It didn’t have overstuffed chairs, a coffee bar and free Wi-Fi, but it was a bookstore for people who love books.
It’s the kind of bookstore where you see people buying an armload of books. Thing 1 (the 12-year-old) always ended up with a couple of Mike Lupica novels, and Thing 2 (the 6-year-old) always found something in the children’s section, which had a giant castle-shaped entrance and a big bench where we’d sit and I’d read him stories about whatever he was into that day, usually something like Spider-Man or Power Rangers.
I didn’t know this was even a genre.
I honestly don’t believe traditional books are dead, but I also understand that the paper book is just a format and that content is what matters. What’s important is that people are reading and learning and thinking about things. It’s the same with music; I don’t buy many CDs these days, but I buy a lot of MP3s. I don’t care about having a lot of shiny plastic discs. I care about listening to great music.
Still, I’m a romantic when it comes to traditional books. I like having them around, and I like showing them off, but I don’t think the kids are going to feel the same way. Thing 1 just got a Google Nexus 7 for school. It came with a $25 online credit. First thing she did was download a book. I’m OK with that.
I refuse to “like” this post, but only on principle of the bookstore closing. I’m still mourning the loss of the Border’s near my office. I am within walking distance of things that people the world over would love to see just once. Every day all I want is to walk out that door and see Border’s back where it belongs. I feel sad for you, Todd.
Oh, ok. I liked it, but only because you included the picture of the “Paranormal Romance” section. At our B & N, it covers the largest square footage (in my estimation). Even my son, a lover of sci-fi, was amazed at that.
Thank you. So, what is “paranormal romance”? Do you mean, like “Twilight”? You mean there are more books like that?
I think I know the Border’s you’re talking about. Is there not a bookstore anywhere downtown … in that anonymous city where you might or might not work?
There are good bookstores, but I’m not allowed to leave my desk for long. I used to have just enough time to “run for the Borders” and get back before my desk had a panic attack.
Like the Hipster, I liked it not because the bookstore closed, but because I like your writing.
God, I miss Borders.
I used to be a big fan of Border’s and Barnes & Noble, but Amazon’s so much cheaper, usually. I life a little south of Nashville; Nashville proper lost its Border’s and its great independent book store, Davis-Kidd, and, for a while, the city didn’t have a single new-book bookstore, but then Ann Patchett, who lives here, opened a little independent called Parnassus Books. It isn’t big, but, Lord, it’s good a lot of really interesting books, and the people who work there won’t try to sell you a tablet.
It’s sad when any bookstore closes but it’s even sadder when it’s a small owner-run shop. It was very “You’ve Got Mail,” when Duthie’s, our local chain, shut its last location because of all the Chapters (Canadian version of Borders) started taking over. The Duthie’s staff really knew their stuff and would happily chat with anyone about books. But at least we still have bookstores, even if they’re big-box versions. In Waikiki the Borders shut down over a year ago which I tend to view as significant and damning. But around the hotel pool I used to be the only one with an e-Reader; now we’re the majority. It’s making us less sociable because before people would comment on the book you’re reading and you’d have a nice conversation. Now it’s tech talk: Kindle people are always wanting to compare their Kindle to my Sony. I’d rather talk about the books.
Good observation about e-readers encouraging conversations about gadgets rather than stories. And speaking of little bookshops around the corner, this place is amazing:
http://toddpack.com/2011/03/29/you-cant-judge-a-bookstore-by-its-sign/
I don’t think paper is just a format, but then, I worked in publishing for a while and have been an author of technical books, so perhaps I’m biased. I think what has primarily changed is the business model of selling content. I used to go to B&N or Border’s on my lunch hour just to get away from the office. I enjoyed the browsing and the delight of discovering a title that interested me and that I didn’t know about. But increasingly I buy books used via Amazon, and find out about what I want to read from things online. That’s how I discover books now.
That’s a whole other blog post. We don’t have a mass media anymore. I discover new books online, and I discover new music through TV commercials and clothing stores and my Shazam app. (You open the app and tap the screen and it listens and tells you what song’s playing, and it’s free.)
I felt so bad when Borders closed. When I was in grad school in Ann Arbor, I parked near Borders and walked past it every time I was there to get to class. At the end of each semester I would reward myself with a stop in Borders to browse and savor the books and ambience, and come away with a new book that had absolutely nothing to do with school. After that experience, going in Barnes and Nobel is akin to going to Costco. After the loss of Borders, I no longer go in bookstores – I just buy the Kindle version, or borrow it online from the library. If getting books has become a warehouse shopping experience, i might as well buy online and save myself the pain.
I feel guilty saying this, but I do read more now that I have a Kindle. I think it’s partly out of guilt. I’m OK with letting physical books pile up, but I spent $199 on the Kindle, and I feel like I ought to use it! (I’m reading Life of Pi now. Great book.)
I feel guilty too, but I’m reading more books as well. I’ve got the Kindle reader on my Samsung Galaxy. It fits in my purse, so I’ve always got a book with me. Now it seems tedious to have to carry around a real book.
My little town lost its bookstore, too, a few years back. It’s just a sad loss for a community. Yes, we can still get books — borrow from the library, order online, download digital versions — but there’s something special about browsing a bookstore. Sigh.
Browsing is … sorry, was great. I used to spend hours in bookstores, although I didn’t always buy something, so I’m part of the problem, I guess.
It is a sad day when something like this occurs. It’s like when there used to be a ton of little record shops/music stores. Now try to find one. We had a place in MD called Record & Tape Traders, and there were a ton of them all around. I used to love that place because you could sell all your old stuff (and get nothing for it, but still) and there were lots of discounted disks. It was one of the last places I found you could actually still find LPs in the 90′s. And now they are all gone (I think). Same with bookstores . . . they are slowly going the way of the Dodo.
They closed my favorite used record store a couple years ago, I guess, but I knew its days were numbered. When I’d stop in, I was always one of the youngest guys in the room (and I’m what I used to call “middle-aged”). Young people don’t buy CDs. They download. Or stream. Or steal.
I own more books than I could possibly read in my lifetime, but I simply cannot resist a good used book sale. For me, part of it is the browsing aspect, happening upon books I would never otherwise find (especially out of print stuff). Our library normally has a twice-yearly sale where one can find an airport hangar size room of books for 50 cents each! Sadly, that’s warped my perception of what a book should cost. ($2.99 for a trade paperback? That’s highway robbery!)
I do own a nook, but I can’t see it ever becoming my reading method of choice, seeing as it’s nearly impossible to flip through and you can’t gauge how much you’ve read by the bookmark position. The status bar just isn’t the same…
Thanks for this post. It’s sad to hear about the demise of any bookstore, but it raises a lot of good questions.
P.S. last time I was in a B & N, I noticed they also had a sizable cowboy romance section. When did that become a thing?
Yeah, seeing the percent read isn’t as satisfying as watching your bookmark move toward the last page. I’m a sucker for used books and remainders. It’s rare that I’ll pay full price for a book, which is one of the things I like about the Kindle. The e-books are usually cheaper than the hardcover edition, and there are a ton of great books cheap or free. Plus, it’s open 24/7.
So many Border’s have closed and it is a shame. People must not appreciate a classic or current novel or why else would those wonderful businesses close their doors indefinitely? I must say I miss walking amongst the shelves and purchasing something that doesn’t make a huge dent in my wallet. May these great bookstores rest in peace