I take exception to your “don’t shop the Borders sale” post,
and would like to frame a reply longer than 140 characters.
An ominous tweet. At least it felt ominous to me because it came from one of the savvy bookish twitter handles: @BksellerExpats. I had blogged that booklovers should Skip the Borders Fire Sale.
Luckily, brevity tends to make missives seem more dire, and Rachel, the aforementioned tweeter, sent a charming follow-up email offering to write a rebuttal. Thus, the first guest post on Word Hits happened less than a month into my blogging. Her piece, A Former Borders Employee Says Shop the Sales, is one of my favorites, as it is gives a window into the bookseller’s experience in these difficult times. I am still getting comments on it from people who are sorry to lose Borders.
I wanted to share this as part of today’s BBAW focus on community, because what I took away from the experience is that I can learn from and build relationships with bloggers who give feedback—good or bad.
While I’m on the topic of community, I also want to highlight the site that Rachel founded with some other former Borders employees, Booksellers Without Borders. “We are the remaindered” reads their tagline. It is a wonderful collection of reviews from people who know a great deal about and who absolutely love books. I find it inspiring that they are sustaining an online community together, even though they have lost a beloved work community.
Because it’s a collaborative site, there is an impressive depth and range in the books they cover. Booksellers Without Borders feels like a virtual bookstore, with reviews arranged by categories just as they would be in on the shelves: Art/Photography, Children’s, Fiction/Literature, Graphic Novels, History/Politics, Humor, Horror, Memoir/Biography, Mystery/Thriller, Science/Technology, Science Fiction/Fantasy. With 15 nephews and nieces, I found it especially helpful that in addition to Children’s, they have separate categories for Intermediate Readers (8-12) and YA.
In the last few weeks Booksellers Without Borders has not had as many posts because Rachel, the site’s administrator, was rehired by Borders to help with the liquidation of Store 405 on State St in Chicago. Her handle @BksellerExpats also fires fewer tweets. Rachel has posted a photo essay on this experience called, The Ghosts of Borders Past. Alas, this is now the final week for Borders 405. But Rachel has promised to guest post an elegy to Borders on Word Hits, hopefully next week … if she has caught her breath by then!
A Former Borders Employee Says Shop the Sales
Caveat Emptor: Skip the Borders Sale
Photo Essay: The Ghosts of Borders Past
Like Booksellers Without Borders on Facebook
Follow @BksellerExpats on Twitter
Word Hits 
What a nice project! It’s a very ecletic book blog indeed! =D
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I feel duly book-blogger-appreciated. Thanks! Glad to have made your acquaintance, and looking forward to great things in the future.
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A brilliant vignette! I really how you approached today’s theme.
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What a great story! I love how connections are made like that.
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Nice post and a very interesting way to make it personal and relatable. Thanks for sharing.
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I did not know about Booksellers Without Borders and really like how you chose to focus on it in this discussion about community.
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A thoughtful post and I will be checking out the Booksellers without Borders blog.
Thank you
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[…] last of the Borders bookstores closed over the weekend, ending an era for booklovers. Rachel, of Booksellers Without Borders, offers a glimpse into her happy days working at Borders. Our final […]
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[…] Caveat Emptor: Skip the Borders Fire “Sale”. We were also featured in their discussion of Books, Dialogue, and Community during Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW). We follow @WordHits on Twitter and like Word Hits […]
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