Another Pre-RIP: Borders Bookstore

[thewayne]

Apparently they're having severe financial problems and collapse is just around the corner, likely to be bought out by Barnes & Noble. I seem to recall reading about the closure of a Borders in someone's blog, I think Felisdemens, and I was quite surprised.

Many years ago, there were two major bookstore chains in Phoenix, they evolved into Borders and Barnes & Noble. Though I always felt that Borders had the better selection overall, I never liked the feel of the stores. I've yet to identify exactly what bothered me, and this is not to say that I go into throes of ecstacy when I walk into B&N, it's just that Borders has never been my primary destination. Dunno why. So now most of the mom & pops have died, though they seem to be making a bit of a come back, and now one of the majors is about to die. I wonder if Amazon might make a play for them.

http://blog.wired.com/sterling/2008/03/giant-bookstore.html

Comments

[thedragonweaver.livejournal.com]

A lot, I'm sure. I can't stand B&N because they don't have the necessary depth of field in the areas I look through; science fiction and fantasy are primarily relegated to "bestsellers" and, quite honestly, if I'm at a bookstore I want something NOW and I probably have all the ones they are pushing. Or I don't want those.

For example, does Barnes & Noble carry K.J. Parker, a Brit author whose work is, most often, about sieges? (Very good books involving sieges, but there is a definite trend.) I would be surprised to find M. Parker* there amidst the thousands of copies of Robert Jordan.

*K.J. Parker's identity is up for dispute. I happen to know Parker's actual gender, but that's privileged information.