This article lays out what those of us on Borders email list already know – the sad desperation of the decline (and fall?) of the second largest bookstore chain in America. Once or twice a week, Borders send me an email offering my 30% off or more on virtually anything I want. And despite my oft stated preference for indies, sometimes I acquiesce (mainly when my better half takes me on her shopping trips – she makes baby clothes, by trade, and often takes me to a Jo-Ann’s  a few stores down from a Borders in Columbia, Maryland).

I cannot be happy to see any bookstore go under. Not even a big, evil chain. Especially since I have such good memories of a particular Borders location.

Also, I once remember reading that they kept books on their shelves longer than Barnes and Noble. What that means is that newly published and less heavily promoted books had more time to be seen, perused, and bought by a passing patron. Which means that, if true, Borders was better for new and emerging writers and smaller publishers than Barnes and Noble.