I'm down to the last three pages in my journal, and I went digging around trying to find another one. That's when I realized I'd have to buy another journal . . . from somewhere else. For some of you, that's no big deal. But I've spent ten straight years buying journals from Border's, especially in the entrance way where the cookbooks used to be. Actually I think it may be longer than that but I'm counting from the time I worked at Border's Books, Music & Cafe on the Magnificent Mile my junior year of college. The discount didn't even matter. All of the access to books and seeing what everybody else was reading was what did it for me. Plus, there were a select few co-workers who I just loved to hang out with and still have fond memories of to this day.

I like Barnes & Noble (mainly for the Starbuck's hot chocolate visits), but I'm not in love with it the way I am with Border's. I'd go to B&N to buy magazines and food. I'd go to Border's to spend my entire day there. I miss the black bookstores I used to visit growing up, the one downtown near the mall by Roosevelt University (in the building my mother used to work in). I miss the smaller bookstore next to the Burger King on State St. I even miss Heritage Books on Winthrop near my old apartment. I miss bookstores that had an abundance of books I enjoyed where I could get lost in the book.

But I may have been part of the problem. I'd go to bookstores, look at the price of the books, then go home and compare the prices on Amazon.com. Whoever had it cheaper got my money, and if I really wasn't sure I wanted the book, I'd get it from the library. But the beauty of bookstores was if I didn't know if I wanted to reserve or buy the book, I could go into Border's, browse through the book and then make a decision. I don't get that same cozy feeling from Barnes & Noble . . . ever, and I've been to a few locations. I mainly don't get it because there's a 98% chance that they don't have the books I want to read on the spot, and they always look suspicious when you want to browse through a special order. I'm not going to steal the book, folks. I just want to see it to see if I want to buy it. (Note: I've gotten so aggravated by that that I'd get a book on special order at B&N, have the money to buy it there but hate the service so much that I hand the book back to them, go straight home and buy it on Amazon.com, too.)

B&N is all right, but I think Border's is like that ex-boyfriend you never get over. No matter what the next guy does, there will always be a small place in your heart for the original. I'm concerned about what's to come of the Border's buildings. I've been on the Red Line and seen the Border's on Lawrence Avenue, and it just looks abandoned. At one point I read in the paper about crime starting to take over the neighborhood. When big businesses aren't around to keep more people around (and employed) that tends to happen. I think it'd be cool if the Border's buildings became Internet cafes or something where the book readers and computer techies could unite. Some of you all are new school and like reading NOOK Books or e-books or reading stuff on your iPad. I'm old school. I want a book I can put a physical bookmark in or dog ear the pages. But I also miss that place to unwind and bury myself in the corner. Reading books at home, on the train or even on a lunch break are all right, but there's nothing like getting lost reading in a bookstore.

I think I'm going to start frequenting Barnes & Noble before it's too late. I'd hate to miss out on an opportunity for one of the only bookstores left while I'm still harping on those that are good and gone.