The Borders store at Union Square is in the midst of closing down, and it makes me immensely sad. Normally I don’t get all sniffy about non-independent bookstores shutting down, but for some reason this feels different.

For nearly four years now this Borders has been my go to spot whenever I was feeling down and out (and on my lunch break). I came here and perused the knitting mags, poked around the self-help section, and got excited by checking out the travel guides. I normally head straight to the comics whenever in a bookshop, but then I always came to Borders for “crisis” situations.

Now what will I do when I am feeling blue in the middle of the day? I love SF Library, but it is just not the same. Crackheads do not cheer you up! Also sometimes you just HAVE TO HAVE THE BOOK NOW.  If I want “Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay” at 2 in the afternoon, or “A Severed Head,” or a quick present for a friend… Now what?

The store is getting pretty bare at this point. Not much else but lots of signs proclaiming 20-40% off!!! My coworker pointed out that the truly sad bit is this: even now Amazon’s prices are probably still lower than Border’s “We are bankrupt sale” price.

I remember when Cody’s Books closed.

And then Virgin Megastore.

And then Stacey’s Books.

I guess I will have to make friends with the Alexander Book Co.