Borders Sale

from the stonebridge institute of higher thinking

Since Borders is closing, I went to check out their store in Columbus Circle. Even though going-out-of-business sales are fantastic, I feel deeply upset. Ten thousand jobs, a legacy of community bookstores, and an icon are all gone. Now all that remains is Barnes and Nobles, and they closed the Lincoln Center bookstore earlier this year.

What the hell will I do when I want books?

Everyone ransacked the store. Magazines and notebooks lay strewn around, the Dean and Deluca's had been completely gutted to make room for something else, and the music section sat almost empty of CDs and DVDs. People picked books from the floor and the shelves, which were also for sale. Though customers picked up stacks of books in droves I somehow didn't have to wait in line for very long.

My local going-out-of-business Borders sale was just like this one. It's amazing how all of these big box stores can stand to be so similar to one another, even while dying.

When they closed that Barnes and Noble in Lincoln Center, I bought The Professor, by Charlotte Bronte. During this closing, I found Perfection by Julie Metz, a memoir about widowhood and coming to terms with the legacy of a dead spouse. Poor Ms. Metz. Her husband left behind quite a legacy. Though I'll get much more specific in my review, Perfection reminded me of A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, which I loved. My opinion of Perfection, however, is much more qualified than that.

I will review that book after I finish Unaccustomed Earth, which I did re-read on the train. Due to signal problems I was stuck on the train for two hours, which gave me more than enough time for me to formulate my thoughts, but somehow not enough for me to express them.