A sad, sad sight

[jmc_bks]

Traffic in DC is unpredictable for me. What ought to take 10 minutes by cab or 15 by bus turns into an hour long commute. So I left with plenty of time last night to meet for dinner. And, since I *planned* for heavy traffic, it was relatively light. Instead of hanging out in the bar, I walked to the Borders on the corner, where I saw the saddest of things: a nearly empty bookstore, shelves with little on them, and huge signs saying "EVERYTHING FOR SALE, EVEN FIXTURES". I had forgotten that this Borders store was closing because it seemed to do such good business. But when I asked, they said that the rent was horrendous and increasing per the lease, which was the nail in the coffin.

All the wooden shelving had "sold" labels. Most were completely empty, a few had scattered books on them. The fullest shelves were full of YA paranormal. Not sure if they were just overstocked with it, or if the genre's popularity has leveled off.

Books I left with (for less than $14)
1. tangled by Carolyn Mackler (YA hard cover): I've read her before and liked her voice.
2. Virtually Hers by Gennita Low (Rom Susp, trade paperback): Ditto. I've got another TPB of hers to be read, but hadn't bought this one because it's tpb. Why the move to tpb out of mmp? There was a publisher change, too, from a NY pub to Samhain. Was she caught in the midlist author crunch?
3. Simply Perfect by Mary Balogh (Eur Hist mass market paperback): I stopped reading her just before this one came out. For less than $2, it didn't seem like a big risk.
4. A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh (Eur Hist mmp): Ditto.
5. Demonkeepers by Jessica Andersen (Paranormal mmp): I went to a Q&A with her back at RWA2009 and was very impressed by her. I've accumulated a few of her Final Prophecy books but not read them yet. Again, low risk here.
6. Through Stone and Sea by Barb & JC Hendee (fantasy): I've heard good things about them but not read their work before.
7. ??? A category that I seem to have left on the train :( It was a few months old, not the current month's releases, presumably because the store had stopped getting new stock.

Comments

[jperceval.livejournal.com]

I guess you could say Low got caught in the crunch. Mira dicked her around to no end after Virtually His came out, and she finally managed to buy back the rights to her work. She self-pubbed Big Bad Wolf (which I really liked, BTW), then got linked in with Samhain, and good for her (even though it means a longer wait for print and trade prices for me, but she's worth it).

I'm scared for my local Borders. They actually closed the flagship store in Philly, so I wonder what chance my little suburban store has. According to their staff they're doing well and not worried, but what if they're told to say that to customers, you know?

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

I think I have Big Bad Wolf TBR, too.

My "local" has long since closed; it's reached the point where I'm not sure where any Borders store will be near me, which is sad since there used to be a half dozen or so within a 15 mile radius.