And there was but one…
Borders is shutting down as of this week. W-O-W. Who’d have thought that?! That was one of the big two bookstore chains that all writers strived for placement in. It had been rumored for months that Borders was in trouble. But after a last minute buyer fell through over the past few days, Borders will be liquidating effective immediately.
What does this mean for publishers and writers alike?
For starters, this leaves only Barnes & Noble as the sole mega bookstore chain out there. Will they wield their new found monopoly power with good intentions? Or will they take advantage of an unfortunate situation and be the bane of the literary world’s existence? Either way, this will have long-term ramifications that we have yet to see other than the thousands who will lose their jobs before the end of this week.
Could this thrust the ebook revolution even further into the light? Many loyal Borders shoppers might simply buy or further embrace Kindles (or whatever ebook device they so use).
Even better, this might give another semi-large bookstore chain a chance to rise up and become a major player. Personally I would rather see that. Just like how Google+ is rising to challenge Facebook in the social networking world is a great thing, so is competition in the bookstore space for customers, publishers and everyone in between.
Comic-Con is on the horizon, and this year will be my first 4-day trip to the event. Despite my duties for the day job, I will update the blog with my daily sheningans as many much as I can. Stay tuned!
As long as Amazon still sells paper books, I think closing Borders will be ok. I loved Borders, but I really loved it for its coffee shop and the convenience of reading books like I would in library. When I purchase books, I usually do it online (that’s where I purchased Star Brigade)… I just hope it stops there. I have an inkling that Idiocracy, the movie, may be prophetic.
Hey Brett. Thanks for the book shoutout! I’m an online book buyer myself, though Borders always did have a tranquil environment that was cool to visit if I wanted to kill time before a movie. And I’ll have to watch Idiocracy. Heard it was solid.
I’d like to see a resurgence of the small, community, well-curated bookshop. I wonder if the end of the megastores will prompt this. I’ve started going back to my local video store and they said business is picking back up and people are returning with Blockbuster going bye bye and Netflix price hikes.
I’d lke to see the same thing too, Rich. Or at least I’d like to see this precipitate the beginning of some lower-tier bookshops getting a chance to shine in a regional arena.