13. Goodbye To Borders

No, this is not an entry on immigration, illegal aliens, or anything along those lines.  I am talking about a different kind of Borders this time.

When it was announced a few weeks ago that the Borders chain of bookstores would be liquidating and going out of business, I was more than a little dismayed, to say the least.  Well, I suspect that is a sentiment shared by many of you.  For me, what makes the closure particularly disappointing is that the two Borders stores in Louisville are probably the bookstores that are the most easily accessible to me.

Unfortunately, that will not be the case for long.  I stopped by one today, and I was told that they had just been given their 10-day notice.  So it appears that, at least in Louisville, the two remaining Borders stores (and probably the two remaining Waldenbooks stores) will close for good just before Patriot Day (September 11).

While I have not been looking forward to the chain's closing, I have been taking opportunity of the discounts at the liquidation sales.  I have managed to score a number of good deals, but here are three in particular that I thought might be of interest:

Glenn Beck's Common Sense -- Inspired by Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet that laid out the case for revolution against England.  Beck takes a new look at Paine's pamphlet, and applies the same arguments that Paine made in 1776 to contemporary government.  The book also reprints Paine's Common Sense, most likely for comparison.

The Original Argument by Glenn Beck and Joshua Charles -- This book updates a number of The Federalist Papers into modern language.  In the book's introduction, Beck draws a parallel between the US Constitution and the latest technology, saying (and this is a rough paraphrase) that if the Constitution was the latest high-tech gadget, The Federalist Papers would be its user manual.  The essays presented are grouped according to topic, instead of being presented in strict chronological order, as they usually are.

365 Ways To Drive a Liberal Crazy by James Delingpole -- Delingpole has two primary means of driving liberals crazy.  One is with the truth, because, to borrow from my second-favorite Jack Nicholson line, liberals cannot handle the truth.  The other is with humor, because most liberals do not seem to have much in the way of a sense of humor.  One suggestion that I particularly like is apparently intended for July 4.  It specifically mentions that it is the birthday of President Calvin Coolidge before giving this quote from him:  "It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones."

There are far more books that I wish I could buy while Borders is still open.  What I really wish is that Borders could have found a way to remain open.  And part of me is hoping that Barnes & Noble will take a look at one of the locations here in Louisville and decide that it would be a great location for a third store.


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