RIP, Borders

[lumy12]

It's not closed yet but I won't be going back. It was too depressing in there. Empty shelves, somber "all sales are final" signs everywhere, "for sale" signs on all the furniture, NO MORE COFFEESHOP :( The only Harry Potter book they had was Chamber of Secrets. I wanted to buy a complete set for Rachel (lol, she's only 18 months old... but I

Comments

[frostbit_sky]

It is way depressing, yet I keep getting drawn back for the sales.

That sucks that they didn't have the 1st Twilight book. There is always the library.

What a damn shame. It was a good book store.

you east coasters can claim that for Irene. Stay safe, all of you!
Thanks, I will.

[lumy12]

If I snoop a little at the place I'm catsitting I might be able to find it there. She has tons of vampire books and I know she likes Twilight so she must own them, I would think! (and it's not very snoop-y to just look at bookshelves... though I have one friend who does that with my dvds and it really annoys me for some reason!)

I guess I'll start going to Barnes & Noble. I like them, they're just not mine like Borders was. *emo sigh*

Please do!

[frostbit_sky]

Yea, borrow from her or the library to see if you enjoy it.

I don't mind people looking. I think it is flattering. But I do hate people touching. I prefer people to ask.

[lumy12]

Yeah, manhandling stuff that's not yours is a little rude. I'm rather protective of my stuff if people want to borrow, too. Too many times I haven't gotten it back, so now in my "old age" I've grown rather stingy... er, protective!

[darkp_hawk]

They do have box sets for Harry Potter. I guess they ran out?

[lumy12]

They probably go fast at 60-70% off! The signs said new shipments arriving daily... I suppose I could call and ask them if they have any or expect any.

[darkp_hawk]

Yeah, that does make sense. People probably could use the sale to get an early start on their Christmas shopping for some people too.

[lumy12]

I see it's $86 online. Hopefully the store would have it way cheap... hmmmm.

[ascendingflame]

You should definitely be able to get a HP box set. Yet, I do think Rachel might be a tad too young at 18 months *LOL* Maybe you should wait another... say 6 months... you might get the set even cheaper by then... ;D

You really MUST read Twilight, especially if you liked the films. (Yeah, I know you're not a big reader, but they're fast reads.) I for one loved it. It's just so intense. Of course, it's not great literature. But then, neither are a lot of young adults books nowadays. And while you read you're so drawn into the story that you won't notice until you take a break. IMHO Twilight is not so good because the heroine is such a stupid cow. Really, I could go strangle her all through the books. They did a good job toning her deficiencies down and making her slightly more self-assured in the films.

Oh and btw, after having read Stephenie Meyer's The Host I want to go to Arizona! The landscape she describes is to die for. I so envy you for living there! *LOL*

[lumy12]

Her mom listened to all the books on CD, from the library, so really it would be a present for both of them. I was thinking for Christmas. I don't think anyone else would buy them for her because *I* am her only HP friend, to my knowledge :) And yeah the price will get cheaper as time goes on I suppose but Borders will be completely closed soon. Maybe Barnes & Noble will follow in a couple years when she's actually old enough to read? Heh.

I didn't know you were a Twilight fan! Someone here mentioned that Kristen Stewart vastly improved the character of Bella from the books so I'll probably be thinking "noooo, that's OOC for Bella" from what I remember in the movies. Ha!

I think the desert has its own kind of beauty, yes. It's just fucking HOT. We just had record-breaking heat (for August, that is) the other day. 117 degrees F, which according to my converter is 47.22 degrees C. So you should definitely visit in the WINTER! LOL

[lumy12]

I went to a library in New Mexico on my trip last month! It was really cool! I haven't actually checked a book out from one since... probably since I was in school. It's part laziness on my part (don't know where the closest one is to me, have to get a card, have to bring book back), and partly that I'm suuuuuuch a slow reader. If I own a book it can sit around collecting dust for ages before I get to it (or finish it) and it's no biggie. And I just have this thing about OWNING things... like how I don't do Netflix because I have to BUY the dvds >.> Yes, I guess something is wrong with me, go figure! WHO KNEW

[ansketil_rose]

It's a testimony to how truly international Borders is, that I had exactly the same experience in town the other day. Seeing all the naked shelves where once there lived books, music and DVDs was incredibly sad and I couldn't feel good about the experience no matter how far things had been discounted.

I bought some beautiful stationary, an art book of Gustav Klimt's erotic sketches (which I hid from my friends), and Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice, which I'd been meaning to buy for years. You would LOVE that book! No vampires, but wonderfully hot Italian singers during the renaissance.

I used to meet friends in Borders too and read Star Wars novels I didn't want to buy unless I decided they were worth re-reading. I remember reading all of 'Labyrinth of Evil' in Borders before going to 'Revenge of the Sith' with my bf at the time.

I think the era of large chain book stores is coming to a close. People can buy books and music easily off the internet. I was watching You've Got Mail last week and I think the opposite is now true: it is

[lumy12]

I didn't know you had Borders in NZ!

Oh, to be a fast reader and be able to read books in bookstores like that! I feel like I do get to savor things more, though, as a slow reader.

I'm happy to hear that the small chains are doing well. It's so feel-good to root for the little guy... even though I contribute to the problem by going to the Big Guy. The only little guy shop I've heard things about is quite far from me so I don't bother going there.

I was really sad when my first and favorite coffee shop shut down. It was mom'n'pop, definitely a cozier atmosphere than the chains. But it too was way across town (I found it when I was in college) so once I moved to my current residence I rarely went back there. Even to its rival, which was a big chain at the time but now I think Starbucks has reduced them to only 1 or 2 locations in the Phoenix metro area as well. In these tough times mom'n'pop needs to make a resurgence! People need to feel comforted!

[six_demon_bag]

That is sad and that's how I felt when a locally owned bookstore/coffee shop closed years ago. The place was small tiny compared to the likes of Borders or Barnes & Noble (which moved in practically next door a couple years earlier, probably triggering its demise), but the atmosphere was wonderful. Nice comfy chairs placed in every section and even a couple of pet cats roaming around. I would regularly sit down in the sci-fi/fantasy section and flip through some prospective purchases and a cat would almost always end up in my lap. That's if the cat hadn't already claimed the chair for itself. : ) Anyway, I like Barnes & Noble, too, and I like being alone in the crowd like you describe there, but there's never been live music. But yeah, I'm sorry for your loss

[lumy12]

Cats roaming around? I would surely frequent THAT store! Especially when I was younger, still living at home (no cats)... which is when I frequented coffeeshops. There was a time I went and hung out with a foofoo mocha drink there nearly EVERY DAY. Like a rich person. Once I had my own place I didn't have such a need for escape (unless I was fighting with the boyfriend I lived with for a year, LOL). Ah, the good old days before one could escape to the internet!

The movies sucked me in pretty much against my will, but I think it'll take more for the books to achieve that!

I did not break into tears then :P but I did have a close call when I was walking out the door, because I thought "this will be the last time I walk through here." Sad :(

[six_demon_bag]

After I move into my apartment on November 1, I'll likely be visiting Barnes & Noble more frequently because it's practically right across the street.

Wow, that has to be the most appropriate icon I've ever seen as far as pertaining to the discussion at hand goes. : )

[lumy12]

Oh good! Go forth and singlehandedly save them from suffering Borders' fate!

LOL plus it was true at the time! But I've had my morning coffee, I'm good to go now :)