I keep meaning to write about this, but I guess I’ve been blocking it out. So here goes. Yes, it’s about Borders Books.
It was gut-wrenching enough when our store in downtown Santa Barbara closed last month, but now the company is preparing to file for bankruptcy? Not really a surprise since they haven’t been paying their bills, but I really hoped it wouldn’t come to bankruptcy and re-structuring and closing stores and laying off people and….Well, what it means is that there will be fewer brick-and-mortar stores where readers can find the books they want to read.
Don’t get me wrong. Independent bookstores are wonderful. Libraries are essential. Amazon and other online retailers are convenient. But one less chain is not a good thing for the book business – or for us authors.
Besides, I always liked Borders. I remember when one of my publishers flew me to their headquarters in Ann Arbor to meet with their buyers, who were all book people as opposed to bean counters. They were young and well-read and didn’t treat me like an interloper. They cared about my opinion and said flattering things about my novels and didn’t sit there judging whether a particular book cover should have a different background color. In other words, they weren’t full of themselves the way I’d always found the Barnes & Noble executives to be.
Before I became a writer of books, I actually worked for Borders as a freelancer writer and promoter – only the company wasn’t Borders then. It was Waldenbooks and they were based in Stamford, CT. I used to interview authors for their consumer newsletters and come up with articles about various genres. Walden stores were small stores, like B. Dalton stores, and they stocked mostly just the bestsellers. Then Borders came along and bought Walden and everything changed – for the better, I thought.
But now look. Barnes & Noble is said to be eying Borders for a possible merger. How would I feel about that prospect?
Yeah, that’s how. I’ve never been wild about putting all my eggs in one basket, so to speak. We need Borders to get healthy again so they can function on their own. I’m rooting for them. Clap clap clap.
my first job in NYC was at Doubleday at 5th and 57th. the pay was terrible, but I loved working there. They let us borrow books to read, gave a 40% discount on purchases. It was such a civilized place to work. I even got to wait on John Lennon among many others. Truly a golden age for midtown book sellers. We had 2 Doubledays on 5th ave. Rizzoli, Scribners, Barnes and Noble ( before they were a chain) The Argosy-thankfully still in business, the Colliseum…all within a few city blocks of one another and all thriving.
Weren’t those the days, Mike? I loved that there were so many bookstores in Manhattan and very cool that you worked at the Doubleday store on 57th. Brentano’s, which was owned by Waldenbooks when I worked for them, was a great store too. I wonder where all the employees went and what they’re doing now. As you say, the pay was the pits, but nobody cared.
As a non author and someone never in the publishing business I still have a strong concern about all of this.
Maybe I’m just old and being nostalgic because I am the only person in the world who will not purchase a Kindle or the like. I have an ongoing love affair with books. Books are some of my fondest memories. Ask my hubby each time we move and have to pack a ton of books how he feels about this love.
My mom died when I was 13. A great deal of my memories with her are centered around books. She was always embarrassed by her lack of formal education (only to 11th grade) so she read oh how she read. She gave me this love of books. She and I would go to the library which is where I think I learned to love the smell of books. She bought me sets of books from Dr. Seuss to Nancy Drew to Lousia May Alcott to books on the earth and animals etc. My room was like a library. She and I would make a day of going “downtown” all dressed up with our gloves on and have lunch and shop and there was always a stop at her favorite book store at the end of our day together. It was like she saved the best for last. It was like going to Cheers because they knew our name when we walked in. I was always so impressed with the people who worked there because they seemed so smart to me as a kid. No matter the topic they could converse with you on that book. I wanted to work there but I was probably only 11 by then. You just don’t get that from a Kindle. Books have a certain romance of it all. The feel of a book, the people who work in these stores who are knowledgable beyond a flashy best seller cover and it always feels like home to me.
With dwindling book stores where will an old coot like me go for my book fix? While I use Amazon a great deal it’s still not the same. I guess I better get my gift cards and head on over STAT.
This is sad news indeed. I too love books. My husband bought me an iPad thinking I would use it for reading, but I only use it for the internet. It doesn’t relace a book.
It is a shame that books are not as well made as they used to be. I know prices have gone up, blah, blah, blah, but the new books fall apart so easily and just don’t have the heft of the older books.
Loved the story about you and your Mom and getting all dressed up to go buy books.What a wonderful gift she gave you.
Oh, Peg. That’s such a lovely story about your mother introducing you to books when you were young. I can relate to your feelings about them – the touch, the smell, the sense of holding one in your hands. Nothing like it. And I, too, had to pack up my huge collection every time we moved – until the last move up here to Santa Barbara. I finally decided to take the plunge and downsize and that meant giving the books away (except for my special favorites, which I’ll never part with). I donated them to the local library and waved goodbye to them. I was surprisingly dry-eyed about it, because I knew they’d be read and appreciated by others. As for the Kindle, I’ve held out but am finally going to buy one. It won’t replace actual books, but I do like the idea of being able to download an ebook when I need something quickly, which I often do for research.
You aren’t using your iPad for reading, Melissa? I’ve been trying to decide between it and the Kindle but since the iPad is more expensive and I already have a Mac laptop and an iPhone, I thought I’d go with the Kindle. As for books not being well made anymore, I remember when I worked in publishing and we used to get complaints from readers all the time about how pages were falling out and put in the wrong order. I’m not sure much has changed.
I too love books and have resisted getting an e-reader. My basement looks like a bookstore. I also love to go to bookstores, and always find one when I travel in the U.S. There’s a wonderful one in Boulder, Colorado called Boulder Book Store. I can see the advantages of an e-reader for instant books and for it’s portability. Sadly, the Barnes and Noble in Manhattan by Lincoln Center has closed.
By the way Jane, I am currently reading your book – “The Secret Ingredient.” I’ve also read “Confessions…” (of course, that’s how I found you) “ChaChaCha,” “Internal Affiars,” “Name Dropping,” and “Female Intelligence,.” I plan to read all your novels. They are a lot of fun.
Wow, Freya. You’re becoming an expert in my “oeuvre!” I hope you’re enjoying Secret Ingredient and finding it as entertaining as the others. As I said on the “Ask Jane” page of my web site (at least I think I did), that novel is my personal favorite because it came about as a result of a funny conversation I was having with a friend about our husbands. Thanks for the heads up about the Boulder Book Store. We have a couple of good indie stores in SB: Chaucer’s and Tecolote. But the Borders in downtown was a real gathering place. Musicians would perform outside, the cafe was always jumping, and it just had a great vibe. Very sad to see it go.
Jane, I was talking about books they made when we were kids, and before that. Those old books with the thick SEWN bindings and substantial leafs. SIGH!!!
Hoo boy. This is INDEED bad news. I’ve been going to one of two Borders just about every week, not for months, but for years. You see, I’ve got a two-fold problem. Don’t just love books, but CDs too…
Yes yes, I know…nobody buys CDs anymore. Or cassettes. Or records. Except those who do. Like me. To collector geeks like myself, there is (was) nothing like holding a new record album, esp. the ones where the cover opened up. But now? It’s like I’ve been in one long funeral procession, saying g’bye to once-beloved recorded music outlets, as chain stores both local and national, from Waxie Maxie’s (a local one) to Tower Records to The Wiz to Sam Goody’s to…oh, why go on…and now you tell me that that big beautiful 3-floor Borders in our closest local mall will be a refrain of “Walk The Dinosaur” — ?!?
Peg’s story is certifiably wonderful. I can relate. Me dear old mum probably woulda been a local librarian in a place like Moncton, New Brunswick had she not met my dad…and had a relatively happy life that way. Oh how she loves books. My Francophile/Egyptologist Sister too, and her hubby. My Dear Wife, Queen Cleanup, keeps pounding on me to reduce my collection of (pick one: records/tapes/discs/books), but for every three that go out, one may come in, thank you Borders. Until now. Progress. Bah. HUMBUG!
Oh, those! Melissa, they did know how to make books in those days. No scrimping on the best materials or people to do the labor. Sigh is right.
It really is the end of an era, Dave – both for records/tapes/CDs and for books. The world has moved to one big online store! I do admit I love iTunes and being able to download a song when the spirit moves me. Sounds like you come from a family of book lovers too.
It is really sad about Borders closing. It’s the complete opposite of bells and angels wings – anytime a bookstore closes, a bookworm dies of loneliness…or something like that. I agree, readers and authors alike need a wide variety of both independent and chain bookstores. This offers the best blend of giving newer, more outside the box or controversial authors a chance (and readers a chance to love them) while retaining the ability to provide large scale national exposure for works of more general interest.
I love the old sewn binding books Melissa is talking about. As a kid my father gave me his childhood book collection and many of them had actually been his much older brother’s first. So I have lovely 1930s and 40s hardcovers of Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Three Musketeers, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and the like that I read and read.
How wonderful that your dad gave you his childhood collection of books, Kristen. Such a meaningful gift, especially the books you mention. Treasure Island and Kidnapped, in particular, are among Michael’s favorites. I hope you keep them in a safe (and dry) place!
For a long time, our local Borders Books store was one of my favorite go-to places for books, music cd’s, magazines and a caffe latte. Most years, I would do a good portion of my holiday shopping there as well as shopping for myself. They offered the typical store discount card (for free) and rarely had author’s coming through to promote their books unless they were local authors. Then, approx. 2 years ago a Barnes and Noble superstore opened nearby (and conveniently adjacent to our local mall)….and the Borders started to go downhill quickly, first, getting rid of the music section, then getting rid of employees. It’s currently a ghost of its former self and I expect it will be closing any day now.
The local Barnes and Noble store is a large, two-story affair that often has name author’s coming through to promote their latest work. They also offer the typical store discount card (and now charge a $25 annual fee to renew). No thanks!
It will be interesting to see the effect of our current technology (ie., Kindles and I-pads) as well as our current economy on the future of both bookstores and libraries. I guess this is what they call progress?
On the flip-side, I’m seeing (and reading about) more and more used vinyl record stores popping up around the country…who’d a thunk it 20 years ago?
Sad to hear your local Borders is on the verge of extinction, Phyl. I think the whole bookselling universe is on the verge of major change with people turning to ebooks, but we’ll see. I just bought a Kindle and have yet to use it! I, too, have heard that vinyl records are making a comeback. I don’t even have a turntable anymore.