I'm going to write about something that is kind of vaguely related
to computers: Books.
Do you like books? Do you like reading?
I love books, and I am addicted to reading.
It all started in Junior High when I discovered science fiction and
Robert A.
Heinlein. I forget which of his juvenile novels I read first,
Red Planet or Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, but I quickly
tracked down all of Mr. Heinlein's juvenile novels. This turned into a
lifetime obsession with the genre.
So I like books, and I like bookstores - mainly because bookstores
have books in them, but lately due to the fact that they have free WiFi
and a coffee shop, too. This is a trend that the Borders chain started, but,
unfortunately, Borders is now going belly up. I'm sad. It's not that I
can't buy books anymore, it's just I've lost another cool place to hang
out.
The other night my family went to the local Borders to pick up some
items on sale. I really couldn't muster much enthusiasm, as it was like
attending a funeral. The coffee shop section was closed, shelves were
empty, and the store was full of bargain hunters.
What do I really miss about a brick and mortar store? Browsing.
Wandering around and looking for something I haven't seen before.
Now I'm no Luddite. I use the Internet for shopping - but it's for a
specific need. To me at least, it's hard to browse an Internet site.
And shopping is sometimes a social event (at least for my wife - I
remain a confirmed search-and-destroy shopper who only wants to get in,
get out, and go home). We are all human beings, and humans like to rub
elbows and socialize. This is a need that we will always have, so I
don't see the replacement of the retail store.
That's why I miss Borders.
Analysts claim that one of the reasons that Borders failed was
because it didn't have it's own e-reader. Amazon has the
Kindle, and Barnes and Noble has the Nook, but Borders
was the first book retailer to sell an e-reader - Sony's model.
I think that Borders expanded too quickly and was too spread out to
weather our economic downturn. Still, whatever happened, there's still
Barnes and Noble.
But I'll still miss Borders.
