Used Books Blog

Are the lights going out at Borders Books?

Borders Books completed the sale of its Australian, New Zealand and Singapore business to A&R Whitcoulls (ARW), the leading Australasian retailer of books.

Borders Group will receive proceeds of approximately $95 million (AUD) or approximately $90 million (USD based on current exchange rates). Additional deferred payments of up to $15 million (AUD) or approximately $14 million (USD based on current exchange rates) will be paid to Borders Group on or about March 31, 2009 if certain performance targets are achieved.

As part of the agreement, ARW … will have the right to use the Borders brand throughout Australia/New Zealand/Singapore consistent with a brand licensing pact that is part of the agreement.

On the face, Borders is simply continuing it’s quest to reduce debt and create liquidity. Pull back; get the financials in order; join the ecommerce party (better late then never); and launch new concept stores in the US. This would all put Borders in a better position to compete with Barnes and Noble.

But these moves also make Borders far more attractive to a buyer like … oh, Barnes and Noble. Remember, Barnes and Noble is a US centric company and would likely purge any international businesses they acquired. Less debt to inherit is certainly attractive, right?

Then there’s the new online business just launched by Borders. It’s interesting that both Barnes and Noble and Borders rely on Alibris to drive much of their used books business, more so for the latter than the former. Finally, the new Borders concept stores echo the Barnes and Noble brick and mortar strategy. How difficult would it be for them to claim some of this real estate and quickly transform them into Barnes and Noble stores? Not very.

Obviously I could be reading a lot into nothing. But couple this with the recent corporate job cuts, dwindling employee perks, store employee hour cutbacks and the accelerated return of merchandise to publishers and you get a real sense of urgency that speaks to a pending purchase and not a return to greatness.

The other day Dave Rosenthal, Assistant Managing Editor of The Baltimore Sun, emailed me and asked if I’d contribute to a blog post regarding the best bookstores in vacation destinations.

Following is my contribution:

This is a great topic and I always like to check out an independent bookstore while on vacation. It often gives you a real sense of what that area is like - something you won’t get at Borders or Barnes and Noble.

If you’re in San Francisco, I’d recommend City Lights Books:

City Lights Books reflects the political heritage of San Francisco and you can often see freedom of expression banners of every sort adorning the second story. City Lights is in the heart of North Beach, a focal point of the Beat genre. This is a great store, with plenty of poetry and local authors you might not find elsewhere. Please note that it is a stone’s throw away from the ‘other’ part of North Beach which is comprised of strip clubs.

If you’re going to Portland, Oregon you must go to Powell’s:

The main store is just gigantic and you can tell how passionate they are about books and about remaining independent. You could spend an entire day here without a problem. They also maintain perhaps the best independent website if you’re unable to visit in person.

In particular, I like the ongoing story of Fup the store cat. Though Fup passed on in 2007 you may keep up with Fup online here.

If you’re in Washington, DC I’d recommend stopping in at Kramerbooks & Afterwords:

This is a funky little place in Dupont Circle where you can browse books while waiting for a table in the cafe. It’s an experience and a hang out. Not a place to find the best selection but certainly a place to experience if you’re looking for a literary lunch.

If you’re in New York City you should go to The Strand:

I’ve (sadly) never been to The Strand but I know those who have and they are thrilled with the selection. How could you not when they have 18 Miles of books.

If you’re in Denver, Colorado take a look at The Tattered Cover:

This is another long established independent housed in a unique location. I’ve never been, but many have told me of their visits here and that it has character. Couple that with an obvious passion for literature and you have a winning combination.

If you’re in Los Angeles, CA and you’re into the Horror genre you must go to Dark Delicacies:

This might not be a place to take the little ones, but if you’re into Horror then this is the place to go. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Del Howison who runs the store, and you could not meet a nicer guy. Del is also an actor and author himself. Just look for the pale guy with the long white hair.

A Berkeley store that I’ve been urged to go to but haven’t (shame on me) is Dark Carnival:

“Dark Carnival specializes in science fiction, fantasy, and mystery books! We have a huge selection, a knowledgeable staff and plenty of random plastic stuff to round out your bookstore experience!”

Their Hot 100 or essential reading is a perfect match for me, including folks like Jonathan Lethem, Jonathan Carroll, Steve Erickson, Philip K. Dick, William Gibson and Neil Stephenson.

I know I’ve missed plenty others. The important thing is to visit and patronize these and other independent bookstores so that the flavor of literature in each city remains for generations to come.

Thanks to Dave and The Sun for the invite. I encourage readers to check out the other responses to this question and to contribute your own bookstore gems. Is there a dynamite bookstore in Maui? What about San Diego? I’m sure there’s a great Chicago bookstore and what about Seattle?

Speaking at D6, a conference about all things digital, Jeff Bezos told reporter Staci D. Kramer that about his vision for the Kindle.

The vision for Kindle is every book ever in print in any language—all available in less than 60 seconds.

It’s a lofty goal that Bezos says may take “years of work.” Years of work? You’ve got 125,000 titles and you think getting the entire compendium of printed books ever, in any language, is simply going to take years of work? I’m hoping this is just posturing or marketing because it will not be possible to do this in years, if ever!

The current way in which Amazon handles pre-ISBN (International Standard Book Number) titles isn’t very good. Long story short, Amazon doesn’t have good visibility into out-of-print books. Their catalog is often wrong because of the chaos that existed in publishing before ISBNs were introduced.

Kudos to Staci D. Kramer for not drinking the Kool Aid and believing that publishers are eager to contribute titles to Kindle. If this were the case you’d have plenty more titles available already. According to Bowker, the number of titles currently available on Kindle is only a third of the total titles published in 2006.

A third of a single year!

Publishers are wary of the digital age and the entrance of Amazon into this arena. Some may embrace the idea, but I believe most have a gut sense that Amazon must be getting more out of the deal somehow. These are established (some stodgy) companies who are not ready to cede control of the future of books to one player.

Mr. Bezos, my advice is to focus on the renewable and ripe market of textbooks.