my bookstore wars

This was one of the rare times I entered Borders to buy books.

Ok I was only attracted by its weekend sale - after all, it was 35% off for 5 books or more. And I had a few books in mind, as well as some Christmas gifts for cousins to get, so I figured I'd pop by before lunch and work on Friday - when hopefully there wouldn't be too long a queue.

However, I remembered why I didn't shop at Borders much. Service was fine but the stock wasn't. I was looking for Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials set, something a colleague had lent me a while back, but she'd only owned the first two of the series, so I hadn't the faintest how it all ended. And I figured, what's a better time to buy a boxset then during a sale! Unfortunately, the friendly Borders staff checked the inventory and the shelves and nope, she couldn't find any. So I scrambled to find another book to make it five. I got three presents and also picked up TC Boyle's The Inner Circle and Iris Murdoch's Under The Net (I've become quite enamoured with her writing).

On Sunday, before work, went with the sister out to town to window shop and make full use of her Kino card. Well, I could've made better use of it, if I were not so budget-conscious this month. And there, in what's probably the best bookstore in Singapore, were plenty of copies of His Dark Materials set, and there were even two versions were available. While my sis was browsing the magazines, I checked out the lit section where Tim Burton's The Melancholy Death Of Oyster Boy always calls out to me, but I've somehow managed to avoid buying it. And as I gaze lovingly at all those books I desire, I wondered at how different the two stores' fiction sections are.

At Kino, I just feel a need to buy everything I lay my hands on, even if they're on the top shelf.
At Borders, I just feel like everything's been picked up and read by at least ten people.

At Borders, I found only a couple of William S Burroughs' books. But at Kino, there was what looked like quite a full array of his books, including what is considered his seminal work - Naked Lunch. This was painfully absent from the shelves at Borders, unless they had squirreled it away in some corner.

However, the things I do like about Borders include its CD section (where tracks can be listened to, although you have to use the headphones at your own risk) which isn't priced as high as HMV. I also like the store's brightness and its floor-to-ceiling windows as Kino tends to be rather dark and sometimes the layout's a little confusing. Borders' food section also has more books unshrinkwrapped compared to Kino. Borders' magazine section is also a little more accessible than Kino's, although as with every bookstore, you first have to wade through the readers before you can get to the products.

So Borders gets the consolation prize, cos what ultimately matters are the books.


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