Picking over the remains

Last weekend, while hunting for a particular book for my brother's birthday, I ventured into a Borders store. I usually avoid stores that are closing (they make me feel like a vulture), but I'd already struck out at both my local independent bookseller and the nearest chain bookstore, so Borders was my last resort. They failed me, too, when it came to the book I was searching for, but they still have TONS of books on their shelves, most marked 40 to 60% off. I managed to restrain myself to picking up the Penguin Classics Deluxe edition of Austen's Persuasion, but I might go back later and buy some of the books I've been coveting for a while, like the tattoo-art-style edition of Bridget Jones's Diary.

Anyway, if my Borders is indicative of the chain as a whole, now might be a good time for budget-minded shoppers to get jump-started on their holiday gift buying. The shopping experience is totally depressing, but the books are cheap and plentiful.