Bye-Bye, Borders. Bye-Bye, Books?!
(Attempting to get my mind off of our hellish hurricane season)
Yeah, I know. With the dawn of technology and e-books/etc., paper books were bound to be on borrowed time (and let’s face it; the U.S. economy isn’t helping, either). It makes me sad, though. I’m not what you’d call a bookworm (most books I read are manga ^^;). Still, I’ll admit that I’m going to miss the bookstores that have gone out of business in my neck of the woods.
I went to my nearest Borders bookstore over the weekend. As you may/may not know, the Borders/Waldenbooks company is going out of business. The store has less than 10 days left before it’s gone for good. Everything is on clearance and people are stocking up on discounted books.* Deals are great, but it’s still a little depressing. I’ve frequented that Borders for many years, and now it’s shutting its doors. This isn’t the first bookstore I’ve said farewell to, either.
More and more bookstores are closing. I wouldn’t be surprised if bookstores are extinct within the next five years. O_O Then where the hell will I get my books (*cough*manga*cough*)?! Online, I guess. I don’t shop online very often, but I guess I’ll have no choice, huh? And don’t even get me going on the fact that so many people are losing their jobs on account of this bookstore bankruptcy, too. I must ask: are these bookstores closing due to technology making printed books obsolete, or are they closing just because this country’s economy is spiraling south? Probably a combo of both. I don’t know how bookstores are faring in other parts of the world, but my neck of the woods isn’t doing so hot.
Don’t get me wrong: technological advancements have their good points, but I can’t help but feel like we’re losing some things in the process.
Farewell, Borders. ;_; I’ll miss you!
* Oh! Curious to know what bargain manga I purchased? (Probably not ^^;). I actually didn’t get as many books as I’d like. T_T Other manga fans must’ve beaten me to the punch, because the store’s shelves had extremely slim pickings when I arrived. (Actually, the manga I’m most eager to get won’t be released until October & November, so a lot of good that does me right now ^^;). But for the curious, here are the manga volumes I snagged at 60% off:
Aion (vol.1), by Yuna Kagesaki
Dark yet cute fantasy story about a schoolboy tangled between a mysterious girl’s fight against parasites from an ominous ocean. As of Vol.1, I’m undecided whether or not I’ll buy the following volumes, but it’s intriguing, nonetheless.
Grand Guignol Orchestra (vol.1), by Kaori Yuki
Gothic, 19th century-ish tale about musicians who exorcise zombie-like creatures through the power of their music (and an occasional bullet). Beautifully drawn, gender-bendy shoujo fantasy. I’m considering the following volumes.
March Story (vols.1+2), by Hyung Min Kim & Kyung Il Yang
Demon-exorcising, horror/fantasy saga about a half-human-half-demon heroine. She conceals her gender to avoid falling in love, lest the demon sleeping inside her awakens by the pounding of her infatuated heart. My latest idée fixe!
As for my much-anticipated manga releases in October and November, I’m looking forward to March Story (vol.3) in October, and Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee (vol.7), by Hiroyuki Asada, in November. Like I said, March Story has hooked me, and the next volume of Tegami Bachi features one of my favorite segments of the series: the truth about Niche’s past in Blue Notes Blues! ^.^
No doubt, I’ll keep supporting my favorite series as long as bookstores sell them!
Afterthoughts - Writing this entry reminded me of Xenosaga (psh, what doesn’t? ^^). The story takes place many millennia into the technologically advanced future. What’s left of books are considered obscure collectibles (which just so happens to be a hobby/fetish of my favorite character, Jr.! ^.^ Wee!). Anyhoo, as much as I love Xenosaga, I’m not sure if I’m ready for a society where books are no more.