Auf Wiedersehen, Borders

I still cannot believe that all of the Borders bookstores will be gone soon--very soon, most likely. While Borders has always been my LEAST favorite bookstore, I am still saddened by their bankruptcy. It begs the question on the minds of most fellow readers: Will our favorite bookstore be next?

As y'all know, I love my Kindle. Double triple times a million love. BUT I still enjoy certain books in print--i.e., Dean Faulkner Wells' memoir about growing up in the Faulkner family. Something just seems wrong about reading that on a Kindle. Or, for some reason, any book by Alexander McCall Smith. I saw a sign the other day in the window of a used bookstore that said "You Can't Sign a Kindle" and I had to agree. Some of my most prized possessions are signed books by my favorite authors. I will never in my entire life forget meeting Alexander McCall Smith (in his kilt, no less!), or discussing the possibility of serendipity in my life with Lily Koppel (she signed my copy of her book with the words "Believe in Serendipity, Julianne!"). A Kindle will never replace that.

But Borders seems to be taking the easy way out, culpability speaking, by blaming e-readers for their store's collapse. Hmm... Perhaps it also had something to do with the fact that by trying to sell music, DVDs, books, magazines, crafts, etc., they ended up being mediocre in all of those categories. They always seemed to be just a little too far behind--beginning to sell DVDs right after the advent of Netflix, for example. Smart business decision? Nope.

But there is a point to my ramblings... While my heart does not care--too much--about Borders' demise, I would mourn the loss of a friend if Lemuria in Jackson, MS or Square Books in Oxford, MS--or even, I'll admit--Barnes and Noble stores went out of business. So what can we do to prevent that? SUPPORT OUR LOCAL BOOKSTORES--ESPECIALLY THE INDEPENDENT ONES! Otherwise, there will be no bookstore to walk around and browse while drinking coffee on a rainy afternoon, or a forum for authors to sign books and have launch parties, or a place to take children for story hours.

I will still support Amazon by buying Kindle books (and I support indie authors via my Kindle, as well) but I am pledging to support my brick-and-mortar bookstores more. Even a book a month from Square Books (Christmas gifts, people!) would help.

Go to www.indiebound.org for a list of independent bookstores near you, and find out how you can best support your local bookstore! While most of us do not take enough advantage of the option now, we need to act before it's too late. While I love Amazon, it would be a tragedy for that to be my ONLY option.