Borders Going Out of Business

Ash and I went to Borders last Sunday.  They had their "Going Out of Business" banner plastered across the store front. 

We are very sad about this -- voracious readers that we are, it was one of our favorite hang outs.  They said they can't keep up with Kindles and Nooks and other electronic forms of books.  Personally I still like the feeling of a real book in my hand, being able to turn the pages, make notes in the side margins, highlight my favorite passages.  But I guess the electronic companies have answers to all of that and even offer clip-on lights and pimp-out covers in leather or needlepoint.  I was still holding out until I read an article about how after a certain number of 'reads' it is more ecologically sensible than books.  Hmmm, I sputter about that one for a minute.  Still not sure what the solution is to passing on a 'good read' to friends and family, which we do regularly around here. 

What is this world coming to?  Yes, I confess to kicking and screaming over that potential feeling of being "plugged in" all the time. Not to mention eye strain.  So I did a little research and found this spot-on analysis of traditional books vs. e-readers (at the least, scroll down and read the author's cheeky comparison list):  Kindle vs Real Books

One thing I absolutely agree with is the ridiculous cost of textbooks!  If you haven't been to college lately, textbook prices are criminal!  Editions are outdated every other year if not more often, prohibiting you from dumping them at the end of the semester buy-back season.  Textbooks surpass the cost of tuition at community colleges.  Some considerate, savvy teachers understand this and tell the students the "old editions" are permitted in class, despite the fact they were published a whopping three years ago.  My daughter's teacher credential program includes the cost of an iPad and all required reading material and texts will be accessed through it.

As it turned out, Borders' going out of biz sale was a bust.  We left empty handed.  Even with their 25-50% off deals, things were still overpriced.  Sorry, Borders. 

Anyone with e-reader experience out there that can share their win-over moments, would love to hear your take.