Borders - The Woodlands, TX, 9-2-11

There's only one Borders bookstore within easy driving distance of me, and I decided to pay it a visit this morning in order to kick my four-day weekend off on the right foot.  It was my first trip to Borders since the bankruptcy announcement and the beginning of the liquidator's efforts to get rid of everything in the stores.  I am under the impression that these are the final markdowns to be had before everything is packed up in a few weeks.  As these things go, I never bother to buy anything until near the end (after the original rip-off markdowns have been used to take advantage of the more gullible consumers among us), and I figured it was time to take a look.

I see no point in buying anything at a cheap price just because it is a good deal - but I did manage to find four books that I am happy to add to my shelves (well three to the shelves and one that will probably just be read and put in a closet for now).

Some of you know that I am a collector of Joyce Carol Oates books, with something over 90 books of hers on my shelves.  Well, I was able to find two that I didn't have: a paperback copy of her Sourland short story collection and a hardback first edition of her collection called Give Me Your Heart.  There were actually two others in the store I thought I had, but it turns out I must have read library copies, and don't have them at home.  That means a return trip to Borders in the next day or so, I suspect.

I also found a hardback called If Trouble Don't Kill Me, that I've had on my wish list for a while but never got around to ordering on the net.  It's the story of the Hall brothers, a couple of thriving bluegrass music performers who had their brief careers wrecked by the onset of World War II.  Theirs is supposed to be quite a story, and I'm really happy to add this one to my collection of musician biographies.

And, last and probably least, because I had just read C.B. James's review of it, I recognized the title A Novel Bookstore and grabbed a copy of it in paper for a measly $4.50.  It looks interesting - and I'm a born sucker for novels or movies that feature bookstores, so it was a no-brainer purchase.

I also snapped a few pictures of the store but all I had with me was my iPad and the camera on that thing is nothing to write home about.  The pictures do, however, give a good feel for what Borders stores are starting to look like at this point.