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It's sadly official. Borders is closing. No, I am really upset about this. I ADORE going to Borders and found the entire shopping experience much better than Barnes and Nobel, and Borders was the only place I knew of where I could purchase Paperchase products on clearance or with a coupon. It was also my go to store for comics and manga.
Briefly, I considered finally making the switch to an e-reader. On the rare occasion I actually purchase a book, it's a paperback. These are becoming few and far between, seeing as how I work in a library which gives me inside info on when my favorite books are coming out and I can read them for free. I don't even mind waiting. It gives me time to read other books. :p
But comics are not available on your average mainstream e-reader without jumping through a thousand hoops to get the jpeg files to display. And if you've ever seen my Shelfari list, I read A LOT of comics.
What concerns me most about Borders closing is, as a graphic novel fan and a librarian, I see kids sitting in stores AND in the library reading their favorite series because they simply can't afford to buy them. In my years as a fan, I've seen volumes go from $5.99-$7.99 to $9.99-$24.99 for your average collected book. Kids (and parents) just can't afford to keep up when some series can go as high as 30 volumes. That's $750 or more per series. And don't even get me started on having space for all these things!!
This calls to mind the last time I went to my local Borders where a man working there scolded the kids for standing around and reading the books. The kids complained the libraries don't have "cool books like these." The hell you say! I told them flat out "Not only do we have cool books but the one you have in your hand I just ordered for the library!"
They didn't believe me.
I feel for these kids because they can't afford to buy them, can't stand in a Borders and read (cause Borders is gone), and don't KNOW these books are in a library! This is really sad and troubling to me.
As to why I was considering an e-reader, I will need space in my house for all the comics I will now HAVE to purchase from Amazon (some comics I get are not appropriate for a library... Not all of them are yaoi so shaddap... XD) so if I want novels, I'd like to save the space and use an e-reader. I mean, if I'm going to spend the money, I might as well save the space, right?
Eh, screw it. I'll just use the desktop applications for now. I'll need to save that money for comics. XD
But alas, Borders will still be gone. Some of my best memories are of going to the bookstore with my Ma and I looked forward to sharing that with my daughter. It's amazing what she will come to know as normal concerning her reading as opposed to what I knew at her age. Is this really farewell to brick and mortar bookstores? This librarian hopes not. :(
Briefly, I considered finally making the switch to an e-reader. On the rare occasion I actually purchase a book, it's a paperback. These are becoming few and far between, seeing as how I work in a library which gives me inside info on when my favorite books are coming out and I can read them for free. I don't even mind waiting. It gives me time to read other books. :p
But comics are not available on your average mainstream e-reader without jumping through a thousand hoops to get the jpeg files to display. And if you've ever seen my Shelfari list, I read A LOT of comics.
What concerns me most about Borders closing is, as a graphic novel fan and a librarian, I see kids sitting in stores AND in the library reading their favorite series because they simply can't afford to buy them. In my years as a fan, I've seen volumes go from $5.99-$7.99 to $9.99-$24.99 for your average collected book. Kids (and parents) just can't afford to keep up when some series can go as high as 30 volumes. That's $750 or more per series. And don't even get me started on having space for all these things!!
This calls to mind the last time I went to my local Borders where a man working there scolded the kids for standing around and reading the books. The kids complained the libraries don't have "cool books like these." The hell you say! I told them flat out "Not only do we have cool books but the one you have in your hand I just ordered for the library!"
They didn't believe me.
I feel for these kids because they can't afford to buy them, can't stand in a Borders and read (cause Borders is gone), and don't KNOW these books are in a library! This is really sad and troubling to me.
As to why I was considering an e-reader, I will need space in my house for all the comics I will now HAVE to purchase from Amazon (some comics I get are not appropriate for a library... Not all of them are yaoi so shaddap... XD) so if I want novels, I'd like to save the space and use an e-reader. I mean, if I'm going to spend the money, I might as well save the space, right?
Eh, screw it. I'll just use the desktop applications for now. I'll need to save that money for comics. XD
But alas, Borders will still be gone. Some of my best memories are of going to the bookstore with my Ma and I looked forward to sharing that with my daughter. It's amazing what she will come to know as normal concerning her reading as opposed to what I knew at her age. Is this really farewell to brick and mortar bookstores? This librarian hopes not. :(
