Borders Books Music & Cafe

This is probably the best chain book store in town. Some people might complain that they don’t have enough of a specific section (I’m looking at you Janelle!) but overall the store is stocked with an ample amount of books in every genre.
When I need to find a newer book, I come here. Thus far, I haven’t been disappointed. Plus, with their online coupons, their prices beat any other store in town. Of course, Borders has the low-​pressure sales staff that we’ve all come to love. I’ve sat in here and read more than one book in my lifetime hehe.
Its also nice to know I am supporting a company headquartered in Michigan.
I hope this Borders survives the bankruptcy so I can keep buying books and hanging out here.

The mighty Borders Books & Music on Woodward Ave., a two-​story fortress of solitude.
It was not long ago that Borders stood as one of my go-​to places for buying new CDs. This was the one store that I could count-​on to carry the new Tzadik Records release or to carry the Verve Elite Series CDs that most stores wouldn’t touch, but alas, those days have ended.
Three years ago the upper-​floor of this store was 50% percent CDs and carried one of the best new jazz and classical selections in the area. Today, the CD section covers roughly 15% of the floor-​space and the jazz and classical sections have shrunk to cover roughly 10% of that space. In the old Borders, it was nice to grab a cup of overpriced coffee and then scan the racks to see if anything jumps out. Today, I skip the coffee (because I know I won’t be looking long enough to finish it) and spend about 5 minutes looking through the racks (5 minutes is about the duration it takes to browse through the whole CD area these days). I will though give them credit for still carrying a good selection of Naxos classical CDs, most stores have done away with them completely.
Borders is still good for special orders though. They have been able to secure CDs that my other shops have not been able to, so kudos to them for that… AND…nothing beats a good 40%-off coupon in your email.
It breaks my heart to give this particular Borders a 3-​star rating, but with it’s constantly shrinking CD section I have no other choice… sad, because three years ago I would have given 5-​stars here. I guess we are all still lucky that this store still carries any CDs given the fact that most Borders stores have done away with them completely :-/

OK, confession time – I usually order from Amazon. Sorry, it’s just that Borders doesn’t have great prices. There are certain things I turn to Borders for: if I want to compare books for myself (say, Teach-​Yourself-​Russian books or SAT study guides), if I want magazines (they have an excellent selection, although B&N has a member discount on them), dirt cheap cookbooks, and graduation gifts for family friends that I haven’t seen in several years but am still obligated to purchase things for.
So then why the heck am I even reviewing this place if I’m going to be so 21^st century about my book-​buying habits? Two words: Seattle’s Best. Seattle’s Best is actually really freaking good coffee. I rarely get black coffee when I’m out and about, but their coffee is good enough to stand up on its own. Rare for a chain. If you want something sweeter, their Starbucks-​style drinks are better than the competition.
But one thing really sets their coffee apart from the rest: iced coffee cold-​brewed the Toddy way. This is hands down my favorite way to consume coffee; Toddy coffee has all the rich flavor of good coffee, but none of the bitter aftertaste. There’s all kinds of science behind how steeping it in cold water brings that special flavor out, but I doubt you care. All you need to know is that Toddy coffee is amazing.
In the summer, iced coffee is an awesomely refreshing afternoon pick-​me-​up. But Starbucks and the competition do their coffee the easy way out: brewing it hot and then sticking it in the freezer. Seattle’s Best does not take the easy way out. I’ll honestly drive all the way up to Borders just for an iced coffee.

Say you manage a bookstore and you’re hosting a book signing for a nationally popular author. What do you think would be the most important key to running a successful event? How about… BOOKS???
I drove over an hour to get to the Jen Lancaster book signing in May 2009 at this Borders. I thought about ordering the book early from Amazon (always MUCH cheaper) but figured, I’ll throw my $ 20 at Borders to thank them for hosting one of my favorite authors. Got there about 10 minutes before the event was set to start; parking lot was more than full, and there was a line forming near the front door. As we got within earshot of the front of the line, we heard several employees apologizing for the fact that they RAN OUT OF BOOKS. They called their sister store in Beverly Hills but they didn’t have any either. So, all the Jen Lancaster fans came down for NOTHING. What is she supposed to sign, my chest?
Perhaps Jen Lancaster’s publisher should be insultd that Borders thought turnout would be so low that they ran out of books before the book-​signing even started. They should probably blacklist them from hosting any other authors in the future because clearly they have no clue how to run an successful event.
I didn’t hang out to look at the rest of the books, use the bathroom, or have a coffee, and I won’t be updating this review later cuz I’m not going back. Management that stupid doesn’t need my business.

friendly staff, a filthy men’s room, no outlets to plug in a lap top in the Starbucks seating area (2^nd floor), and half empty shelves. On the upside, the 2^nd floor does have two outdoor balconys.

I tend to lean towards Borders rather than B&N because of location, location, location. I am not one who likes to drive in traffic and this Michigan snow!
This Borders has what a good bookstore should have: Lots of books. They will order any book you want, but can’t find as any good bookseller should. What is really nice here is that they also sell gift items other than books. Crafty things, children’s gift sets and chocolate assortments (Yum!).
The Borders Reward coupons keep luring me in. When I am home for the holidays there is no better way to idle away than sitting upstairs sipping a Seattle’s Best café mocha and perusing through a good book.

I never feel happy in Borders, maybe because of poor design, or because there are no decent good buys, or maybe because they’re legendary for treating their workers like garbage. Whatever. But there is an upside to shopping at Borders. The selection is vast: today I found a cummings book I couldn’t find anywhere else, even at Borders in Ann Arbor. There are also plenty of cushy chairs and couches which are good for reading the 8 travel books that you will never buy. Also, the music and dvd selection (esp. foreign dvd’s) seems vaster than B&N. Still, if you want a book browsing experience at a big-​box bookseller, B&N in Royal Oak is the place.

This is one of the few 2-​story Borders around here – a freestanding building on Woodward Ave (the only other one I can think of is in Ann Arbor). The café is upstairs & has a balcony too. It’s a popular study spot (even if it’s not always the quietest), so tables may be hard to snag. Browsing the music & books is also a lot of fun… there are listening stations where you can scan CDs & listen to samples off of them. The magazine section is rather extensive; I like Borders better than Barnes & Noble because they carry Ms. magazine.