Borders Too Big To Fail?

Where's Bawney Fwank when you need him?  He rushed in to save Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac when it looked like they were going under-- throwing millions of dollars at them which of course was mis-distributed, miss-spent and lost in accounting-- which is EXACTLY how each and every government sponsored program goes.    Show me one that isn't filled with waste and bad accounting.  Please.

BORDERS is in financial trouble, and have been for some time.  It's a shame really because as a bookseller I've always preferred them to Barnes and Noble-- although honestly I will go 30 miles away to go to places like Brookline Booksmith to support the independent bookstores which were so important to me growing up.  Powells in Portland Oregon gave me a huge love of books which continues to this day.

The Nook I carry has close to 4,000 books on it already, and my friends it is the way of the future.  You may not like it, and you can clutch your paper book as tightly as you want but the age of digital readers is upon us and we as creators, authors, publishers, distributors and retailers need to open our eyes and recognize it and the possible revolution it will cause in publishing.

Magazines are particularly intriguing-- think about it.  I can buy a hard copy of ESQUIRE, read it, fumble with the stupid subscription cards that fall out at every fifth page, deal with the perfume smell and then toss the magazine in the recycle bin when I'm done, essentially throwing the $5.95 cover price with it.

OR I can get the same magazine for $2 on my Nook.  No recycle needed, if I want to archive it I can, if I want to toss it I can do that to with a simple press of DELETE.

Diamond Distributors has ceased shipping to BORDERS, so that means no more comic books or graphic novels.  I'm sure other book suppliers are on the verge of doing the same.

The times they are a changin'-- and to all of us in this business, we need to change with it or go away.  A hard thing to face but that is the bottom line.

Next Wednesday; Some ideas for adapting to the technology