Monday, July 18, 2011

The End Of A Chapter

I was catching up on the news this evening and I was disappointed to hear that Borders was unable to find a buyer and will be closing. I live in a town of around 50K population - no Barnes and Noble here. We have one new book store, Waldenbooks, which is owned by Borders.


I will admit that the selection was rather disappointing for a haunt and horror fan. For the past several years the store has catered to main stream selections. Stuff more likely to sell I suppose.

There are many reasons for it's demise - B&N, Amazon and the e-reader of course. I have a Nook, which I love, but there are times when only a book will do.

A couple of months ago our record store also closed. Yes, we were one of the few towns our size that still had an honest-to-goodness, vintage vinyl, new cd's, incense burners, black light poster kind of store. I'm afraid I contributed to it's closing, buying fewer and fewer cds in favor of downloads. (Hangs head in shame.)

I'm not sure if this post is a rant, pity party or what exactly. I guess it's just a reminder that nothing stays the same. I do hope that there will always be real, hold in hand, turn the page books. I would sure hate to think that one day, in the not so distant future, I will only be able to get my Halloween book fix on an e-reader.

Haunt on!

3 comments:

  1. Print books will be around forever! Well, okay -- the 'while-humans-are-here' kind of forever -- and there will always be people who read precious little of anything unless it's on paper. Maybe the ratio dwindles, changes, fluctuates, but I think we will always be able to enjoy the look, smell, feel, the heft and magic of a good book. Sorry about your bookstore closing. Hoping maybe something better will come along.

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  2. That is sad. We have a huge B&N at our mall with a Starbucks and cafe...this place has sort of become a haven for my wife and myself...on the rare occasion we have a date night we usually end up at B&N with our cups of coffee, a pile of books and magazine and nestle into their huge comfy chairs. B&N is great but we have something even better. The Sleepy Hollow book store, a used book store in an old building with creaking and uneven wood floors. The shelves go to the ceiling filled with every type of book imaginable. The horror, occult, sci-fi section is enormous and the owner can tell you where to find any title...you could easily spend an entire day browsing their selection. I try to frequent the store whenever possible...it's a treasure that our town should cherish. Anyway..books are the best...e-readers have a place but nothing will ever replace the weight and feel of bound paper.

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  3. I hope so Mike! I do love plopping a nice hefty book in my lap and leafing through it. No e-reader can take it's place.

    Scott I envy your Sleepy Hollow book store. We used to have something similar but the owner (who was a walking encyclopedia of the written word) retired many years ago. The building was old with sloped floors that creaked and groaned. The shelves were dusty and the place reeked of musty books and stale cigarettes. Still the place was wonderful and I really miss it.

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