Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Borders is going away

The news that Borders is going into liquidation hit me hard. It was no surprise, the patient had been on life-support for four months and the chance of recovery was slim, but it still hurt. Why? I could go on like Greg Kinnear in You've Got Mail how the world will be a less friendly place without Borders but that would only be ironic. Will there be a sequel to You've Got Mail, where Meg Ryan leaves Tom Hanks destitute when Fox Books shuts down?
The end of Borders means the end of a phase of my life. Borders first arrived in our neighborhood when my parents were still alive. It was Heaven as we were all bibliophiles. The selection was always light years ahead of Barnes & Noble. You could find, on the shelf (pre-Amazon) obscure books from University presses. More than just the latest bestsellers, their philosophy and religion sections were unmatched. DVD selection was just a fringe benefit.
And soon it will be gone, except for the memories.

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