“Only Eight More Days . . .”



Bold black letters on a yellow background tell the whole story. (Photo/Dick Bergeron)

That’s how the checkout person responded when I asked her how much longer she thought the Bridgewater location of Borders near the Mall on Commons Way would be open for business.  The date is not official, but if it holds, eight days would bring us to next Friday.

On the weekend of Labor Day, the store was packed with customers, and the checkout line was even longer than it had been on my first visit.

Today was my third trip to Borders, and I stocked up again on paperbacks and hardbacks.  Discounts range from 70% to 90%.  Those bargains are now better than those of any other Internet seller except, perhaps, the thousands of secondary vendors who offer used books.

The prices which I paid for today’s bargains were more in line with those that I would expect to be charged for secondhand books at venues like that of the Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Hills Rummage Sale.  (Mark your calendar for the weekend of October 7, 8, & 9.)

This afternoon around lunchtime there were still plenty of titles available at Borders, but there no longer were any crowds and no waiting at the checkout line.  The shelves are beginning to thin out; yet there is still a good selection of books, DVDs, and CDs. 

Patrons peruse Borders' books in its waning days. (Photo/Dick Bergeron)

Progress is progress, and we all know that the Internet is having a transformative effect on print media of all types.

Nonetheless, I wonder if the practice of downloading books to electronic readers like Barnes & Noble’s ‘NOOK’ and Amazon.com’s  Kindle will result in more reading, or merely more downloading.

Like you, I’ve observed people everywhere with their cell phones either glued to their ears or clasped in their hands as they text away, but I’ve not yet seen many in a public area sitting quietly with an e-Reader. 

Perhaps I’ve not been in the right place at the right time, but I hope that all that downloading of book titles is not merely filling up an e-Reader’s storage capacity to no avail. 

I should add, though, that Priscille just reminded me that J. likes to take her e-Reader with her while on a plane or as she waits in an office.

Such is business:  Whether you are reading from an electronic screen or from a printed page, have a happy and beneficial experience!

Oh . . . , and thanks for reading.

(Click on any image for an enhanced view.)