I had no idea. I did not get the customary prices reduced, last 3 days email. I'd been receiving emails about the store on Thursday or Friday since the liquidator started the closing sales. A beautiful store with a wonderful staff is gone. The books are gone.
I spent many hours here browsing, having a coffee and snack, working on this blog, but most important buying many, many books. I will miss this Borders tremendously.
I wish luck to all Borders' former employees and to Borders itself. I hope the former employees find jobs. I hope Borders survives the bankruptcy. Yes, I know that the end of the print book has been predicted. (I even have a Nookcolor.) However until that actually happens, I want a place to browse books, touch them, turn them over to read the back cover, and bring them home to read. Losing a bookstore, any bookstore, makes me sad. I'm fortunate that I have a Barnes & Noble close by. The nearest Borders, now that more than half the stores in CT have been closed, is too far away.
Goodbye Borders.
*I reserve the right to write about Borders again if it does not emerge from bankruptcy. I am not sure that it will.
Woah. The empty bookstore pics look like scenes from a dystopian novel. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you: I love browsing bookstores, but I love my ereader, too.
Did you hear a publisher recently listed "print" as a subsidiary right? I wish I could remember the link or details of the tweet I read, but I thought it was incredibly interesting.
Sandy, It looked very similar when it was getting ready to open except there were palettes of books all over the place. :( One cool thing is that my local comic shop bought some of the bookcases so I can at least visit a piece of Borders each week. I may have picked up a few little things myself as mementos.
ReplyDeleteI did not hear about a publisher listing print as a subsidiary. WOW! If you find the link let me know.
I helped open a couple of stores with the new concept store format (like the one you visited). You're right, it's eerie how much it looks like a store on the day before the pallets first arrive. It really breaks my heart. :(
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, and on behalf of my fellow booksellers, thank you for your support. It's a rough time, and people like you are what keep us going.
~K
I never even knew they were in trouble! I must admit a lot goes over the top of my head... I can't imagine a world where 'real' books would ever be replaced. I do have a kindle, got it for my birthday apart from downloading a few freebies have still been buying and reading my 'real' books.
ReplyDeleteWhat sad pictures, like you I adore book stores and spend probably as long in those as I do in the art stores.
This morning passed by my closest Borders in Austin that closed first weekend in April... My husband and I were there on the last couple of days it was open and bought a few closeout books for 70% off and it was spooky and sad and just plain awful to be in the "skeleton" store with one register and one employee and all the shelves sold that held the stock and all the empty spaces where books used to be!
ReplyDeleteWhen I passed the store today there was only the signs on the window and the closed sign on the front door indicating there was ever even a store there, as inside was completely empty!