Barnes & Noble or Borders?

[The Book Cave]

I love the decor of B&N, but the employees @ Borders are much more knowledgeable. The ambience of Borders reminds me of vacationing @ the shore. B&N's vibe is like attending a lecture.
I prefer book buying where the employees actually crack open a book. *Little pet peeve*
It drives me mad... mad, I tell ya : o to talk books to an employee & see their eyes glaze over. Hello? Hello, you there? Oh, go get a shot of caffeine & get back to me, fool.

Independent booksellers need our help. They are the true unsung book/author heroes.

[drey]

It's B&N for me. Border's is too far away. I liked our local independent booksellers, but they're going out of business. =(

[The Book Cave]

I love independent booksellers, but they are getting gobbled up by the money grips. I miss them & when I am near one, Drey, I rush in.

[Alice]

Love independent, but wish they had the discounts like the big chains do. I would go to Books-A-Million if they were closer. I would have to pick Borders as the winner because they offer a free membership. B&N also try and shove the discount card every single time I try and make a purchase. Kinda annoying, but to give them points they do tend to have a better stock.

[Amy]

Barnes & Noble has more of the kinds of books I'm looking for, I've frequently been unable to find what I want at Borders. But I"ll go to both...I just love bookstores.

[Book Calendar]

The only bookstore close to me is Barnes and Noble. I tend to go to my library instead or go into Manhattan to the Strand Bookstore, Forbidden Planet, or Posner Boooks.

[Brittanie(A Book Lover)]

I like Barnes and Noble better. Although I will go where there are good coupons. :) Our Borders is very messy and unorganized and the Barnes and Noble is closer to my house. One of my pet peeves is books in the wrong place.

[Angie]

I go to Barnes & Noble if I don't have any particular book in mind that I'm looking for, because I can go there with a list of 20 books and not be able to find one of them - and I go to Borders if I have a specific book in mind because I like their computer system that makes it easier to find books.

The atmosphere of our Barnes & Noble is much nicer than Borders though - which is not always the case. When I go to visit my sister (who lives a few hours away) it's the reverse. So I think it just depends on where I am.

[George Scott]

Both, and independents, too.

The thing is, you can get books everywhere, even at Target and Kroger's. All discounted, and it puts the squeeze on the little guys, who live it for love, not money.

Like in "You've Got Mail", the little ones are falling, unless they don't depend on it for a living. Too bad. Even Borders may be struggling now. The economy is bad for everyone, but doesn't it make sense to travel vicariously, when you can't fly to Barcelona or Geneva for real?

[Insert Book Title]

I have noticed that too. The employees at Borders were actually reading and were great to talk too. When I walk into a Barnes and Nobel I feel like I am being watched. Like they think I am going to steal a book or something.

Borders has a better atmosphere but B&N has a better book selection.

[Rachel Hare]

Borders, no doubt about it. It might be due to basic proximity, though. :)

[Amanda]

I tend to like Barnes and Noble because we run into them more while on the road but more often than not I find myself just ordering online from Amazon.

[L J Edwards]

I must share a story here, one that I tell and nobody believes me, but my Sister was with me, and I promise this happened. We were in the newly refurbished Books-A-Million. First time since they reorganized the place. We were looking for a few books from a list for a neighbors young teenage son (required school reading) We were not familiar with the new layout (Did not find it in fiction) so we went to the information desk. A young man/boy/child (maybe 21 years old) was at the desk. I asked for the "literature or classics" section. He looked at me dazed and confused. I said "You know like Shakespeare" still no answer I said "Where would I find Shakespeare?" He didn't have an answer so he moved over to the computer and I realized he was going to look it up. His fingers paused over the keyboard and he looked at me with a puzzled look and I said "Shakespeare?" and he said (I swear this is what he said) "Is that the first name or the last name" OK I don't think I need to say more.... After some discussion he confessed he had in fact heard of Shakespeare but wasn't sure if that was the "dude's" first or last name....

Now back to question at hand... LOL

I have 2 of each within very close proximity to my home. I go to both of them often and ultimatly prefer the B&N. But it honestly depends on what I'm shopping for. Borders is getting rid of their DVD's and CD section thank goodness because it was always pretty bad in my opinon (I've loaded up on the 50% off sale in the last few weeks though) so if along with books I planned to pick up a CD or DVD I will always head to B&N.

The B&N in my area is always much more organized and the staff seem to be more knowledgable. As far as the extras, I prefer the B&N coffee (or starbucks) to the Borders coffee shop, and I like the B&N journal/stationary section better than Borders.

I just like many posters here love all bookstores and will never shy away from one...LOL