Sad: Last year, I heard the Borders was closing more than half of its 1,200 stores. Borders was my favorite chain bookstore. The stores were huge, and I could always count on finding the obscure fiction, poetry, and literary criticism I crave. I remember quite a few trips to Dallas to load up on books for my graduate classes at Baylor. Those books provided me with enough information for many of the papers I had to write.
Sadder: This year, I found that the store on 4th Street in Louisville had closed. I spent many hours in this giant book store during my annual trips to grade the AP English Literature exam. This really left a big hole in the trip.
Saddest: Today NPR tells me that Borders is giving up and filing for bankruptcy. The remaining 400 stores will shortly close. 11,000 hourly employees – nearly all dedicated and enthusiastic booklovers – would lose their jobs. What happened? NPR reports that what I loved the most about this chain – the huge selection of books – ultimately resulted in its demise. Here is a link to the full story:
http://www.npr.org/2011/07/19/138514209/why-borders-failed-while-barnes-and-noble-survived
