Despite how much I adore the digital age (I go few places without my iPad) I am one of the people who mourns the loss of bookstores. There used to be a huge Borders in downtown DC that I’d go to on my lunch break sometimes to just clear my head and get away from the office. Jess and I would go there for a late afternoon break when our offices were filled with drama and stress. I found books for my godson, new magazines, new authors for myself…I loved the bookstore. And now it’s an empty retail space that just makes me sad whenever I walk to our parking garage. I was reminded of how much I love the bookstore this morning when the Today show made a big deal out of announcing the new title of the next Dan Brown book, Inferno. I was reminded of how I won an autographed copy of Dan Brown’s last book the Lost Symbol by doing a social media treasure hunt at Borders. It was such a fun way to take the digital world to get people into the bookstore. After I won I even had folks emailing me asking me to help them figure out their clues! Nowadays I find myself not knowing what is new in the world of books, what’s hot or what might be good. I can’t browse covers to see if something inspires me or urges me to pick it up and give it a go. I miss my bookstores and I really wish they’d come back to me
With the absence of Borders I figured that I could rely on Barnes and Noble; well, my local Barnes & Noble just shut down. I’d like to support local bookstores, but I work during the day and tend to visit bookstores at night! The local stores tend to close a lil’ early.
When I was a kid I LIVED for Walden Books. Man. I used to sit on the floor, lounge around, browse through magazines and books, and had a grand time.
I worked at that Borders, and was actually there when you won! I miss that store, too. I built a “honeycomb” around a display of Dan Brown books, using Dan Brown’s books. Sadly, it had to be dismantled shortly thereafter. Also, customers were apparently scared to remove books from the display, so …
With the absence of Borders I figured that I could rely on Barnes and Noble; well, my local Barnes & Noble just shut down. I’d like to support local bookstores, but I work during the day and tend to visit bookstores at night! The local stores tend to close a lil’ early.
When I was a kid I LIVED for Walden Books. Man. I used to sit on the floor, lounge around, browse through magazines and books, and had a grand time.
Chandra
I worked at that Borders, and was actually there when you won! I miss that store, too. I built a “honeycomb” around a display of Dan Brown books, using Dan Brown’s books. Sadly, it had to be dismantled shortly thereafter. Also, customers were apparently scared to remove books from the display, so …