Our Ann Arbor, MI-based book and music chain has just joined many other U.S. countries by filing for the dreaded Chapter 11. Many of their stores are slated to close, including 4 right here in Michigan, one of which is in their hometown. You can read more about the bankruptcy filing here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/16/us-borders-idUSTRE71F2P220110216?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
Any store closings affecting where you live?
Book and music stores may not be the only casualties. E-book (Kindle and other) readers, as well as sales of publications by the author or musician directly to the end user will cause a great change in the future.
Check out http://www.ttgnet.com/rbtdaynotes.html for more details. Robert Bruce Thompson is, among other things, an author of computer and science books. He has a very good take on the future of not only the stores, but also publishing companies and libraries as well.
He believes Kindle will in the near future be available for ~$50.00, and e-books direct from the author could be 99 cents to $2.99, many of which already are. The author could make greater profit on the sale of a $2.99 download than on maybe a $19.99 printed book.
He’s worth checking out. Click on current, or check the past few weeks of postings at the site for his comments. His prediction was right about the downfall of Borders.
You can check to see if there are any Borders closing near you here:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/blog-post/2011/02/borders_closing_find_which_sto.html
For me, both of the stores in my are will remain open. 
I’ve always preferred Borders over Barns and Noble, Amazon, etc.
Personally, I don’t recall ever having walked into a Borders store in my entire life; I have always gone with my mother to the Barnes & Noble in Northville Township.
And to think the country’s economy was on its way back; now we have stumbled upon a hurdle to overcome… 
It was? lol
Haha, that’s always my reaction. All of these people saying “the economy is looking better”, etc. What planet do you people live on?
I also laugh at the fact that people are so hesitant on calling it a depression, or even a recession. How bad does it have to be to make you think otherwise?