Not sure if you caught this news yet or not but, according to Publisher’s Weekly, some publishers have suspended shipments to Borders after Borders suspended payments to them. Borders is apparently saying they now have new funding, that they want to meet with the publishers, etc. but I can’t help but wonder why any investor would throw money at that sinking ship. Their financial woes have been in the news for a long time.

I also heard from author Scott Rose that the large Barnes and Noble near Lincoln Center in Manhattan has closed. Kind of reminded me of the huge, empty, ugly buildings that marred Bangor’s landscape after one of our grocery stores not only closed, but abandoned a new building they’d put up, and after Walmart moved to a new location. Two of the buildings are still vacant, with dead weeds in their huge, empty parking lots.

What’s sad about this? Well, as you can imagine, when the giant bookstores started moving into neighborhoods, smaller, independent bookstores went out of business. When these large stores close, many neighborhoods are left without a bookstore at all. I imagine the residents now wish they’d supported their local, indie bookstores way back when instead of being lured in by cheap prices (which, of course, hurt authors and publishers) and lattes.

What can you do to help? If you are one of the lucky ones who still has a small, indie bookstore in your town, give them your business. They likely have the best sellers on their shelves already but they’ll also be very happy to immediately place any special order for you. If you want to save on shipping, special order from your local bookstore instead of ordering a book on the Internet. If we don’t all help them survive, pretty soon the only bookstores left will be the ones online. Local support can absolutely save indie bookstores. One example is HERE.

Nothing beats wandering down the aisles of a real bookstore, searching for your next imaginary adventure, romance, or trip back through history. I, myself, love to slowly thumb my way through all the craft book titles while Richard can stand for hours pondering which home improvement or woodworking book to buy. Of course, the boys love to actually see and hold picture and chapter books before making their choice while the older kids can usually be seen perusing the best sellers.

It’s great family fun when we all go together and there really is nothing like that great new book smell you can only find in a bookstore, is there?

Comments? Questions? Have a similar ditty to share? Email Angela at: angela – at – writersweekly.com.