It's too late to save Borders. Those lemons are, sadly, already shriveled and rotting on the ground. But that doesn't mean the entire tree is waiting for the axe. There are still lemons to be squeezed with sugar and mixed with iced tea or vodka.
Now, if you know me, or happened to read my previous posts about my well-intentioned attempt at participating in a farm share, then you know any recipe I provide will be an easy one. So, here goes: Go to your local bookstore and buy books.
This recipe can be butchered. If you click over to Amazon, it's like substituting Crystal Light for the fresh lemons and real sugar. You'll still have something to drink, but it's not the same. All of those things you love about bookstores -- the browsing, the community, the random stuff for sale that has nothing to do with books but you can't resist buying anyway, the happily employed people -- you can only get that if you directly support those stores.
If you think about it, lemonade stands are the epitome of small business perseverance. It's something we all associate with the old days -- sepia photos of badly dressed, awkward little kids who would grow up to be our grandparents. Then again, Gwenyth Paltrow and her creatively-named kids just raised money for the RSPCA with a lemonade stand. So, it's still in style.
And so are books.
The bottom line is this: I'm not one of those people who believes the publishing industry is withering and dying.
Sure, things are changing, and we've established that Borders closing is Very Bad News. But I don't see ebooks and small presses and self-publishing, and all the other changes that have people doing their best impressions of either Chicken Little or Madam Cleo, as portents that we're entering an era of illiteracy. They're proof that people still love to read and will find new ways to get their hands on good stories. And they're proof that people still love to write and will find creative ways to get their stories out there.
Still, having places where you can go browse and buy books is important to communities and the industry. It's up to those of us who love books to learn from Borders before more stores go sour. Buying local matters.
