Last week the Borders mother ship crashed and I am left fretting that my local store will be a casualty. All sorts of reasons have been floated as to why one third of the stores are closing in NZ and OZ. I know we're not meant to like the big chain stores, they put the little independents out of business, but I can't help it, I love Borders! Peter Craven from the SMH articulates perfectly here.
Whenever I step through its wide, welcoming doors I always take a moment to breathe in the atmosphere - two of my favourite smells - new books and coffee. If you've forgotten, there's a resident Gloria Jeans (another great chain store), the combo is unbeatable.
Apart from the unbelievable range of books, for me Borders means catch-ups with girlfriends, Sunday afternoons with hubby reading magazines; trips with dad to find a Penguin paperback we want to read; babyccinos with my niece; meeting up with mum for a cuppa after an arduous grocery shop; or just curling up on one of their lounge chairs flicking through the big coffee table books I'd love to have the space for at home.
For me it's not a past-time, it's religion. I think it was Nora Ephron who said we all need a place away from work and home that we feel comfortable in, that is peaceful and rejuvinating. For some it is Bali. For me it is Borders.
