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.

[Christy]

Personally, I like both stores. B&N is closer to where I live, but we also have a Borders that is about the same distance from home (just in the other direction, unfortunately). I like the selection at both, although the last time I went to Borders, they had new fiction that had just been released the previous week available on the shelf. That doesn't happen very often in my favorite genre (Christian fiction), so I grab it when I can. In addition to B&N and Borders, we also have a Hastings store nearby that sells books used and new, so I go there from time to time, too. However, I'm often disappointed with the selection.

[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.