After the news this week of the closing of Borders, I started to recognize how much time (and money!) I used to spend at Borders. Appropriately, my friend was interviewed by the local news station about the closing of the retailer and how she felt.
As a teenager with few places to hang out, Borders was our destination! We would head there to study for AP exams, class tests, drink highly caffienated drinks, stare at cute boys making the coffee, and pass the time! I would say we were there several times a week and it was the place where we would generally meet up.
Buying books for me at an actual store has always been a treat for me. I started as a Waldenbooks girl and shifted to Borders when the brand did. Hours spent thumbing through dozens of shelves trying to find the book I was in the mood for. Seldom do I go into a book store knowing what title I want to leave with. I love finding an author that I have read in the past and looking to the left and right of that author to see what else there is to read in that section. Sometimes, I just start in a random place, in a random section, and see what I can find. The Husband sometimes just drops me off at the store because he can’t stand my indecision. I know that there are other bookstores that I can visit, but I just don’t have the connection. If I feel like I want the enjoyment of thumbing through books, I may just have to settle for ebook samples on my Kindle App.
Now that Borders is closing, I assume that teenagers will find somewhere else to get coffee and hang out. It’s just sad that when we all find ourselves at home, we will also have to find somewhere else to go…
Wonderings of a Twenty Something 
I agree that Borders’ demise is sad. I also agree 100% that what you’ll really miss is the experience of the bookstore. I wrote an article last year about how the future of book publishing is about delivering rich experiences to readers. Borders and Barnes might have fared better if they had changed their concept from being in the book business to being in the experience business.
Here’s the article, FYIW: http://sellingchange.com/discussion/book-publishing-industry-is-dead/
Cheers,
Brett
Despite the large amounts of money I spent there, I’m very sad that Borders is closing. I’ll miss their Cocoa Trio. Did you ever taste it?
Sadly, I didn’t get to try the cocoa. What was in it?