The shelf rescue was completely epic! I am so envious - shelves cost a bomb. And the adorably fluffy dog at the end and the science fiction hope was too lovely.
I can only think that trashing perfectly good (and expensive) fixtures is just indicative of the kind of lousy decision-making that helped Borders go under.
I'm watching this 2 years later and I'm in awe but also a bit emotional (?). The way you talk about books/library really resonate with me. It feels like you're practical but also a kind of a nutter in your love for books/stories. My kind of people. Still a great video!
I worked at Borders for six years, I enjoyed your shelf acquisition tale. I was in charge of fixture sales at the location where I worked. You got the best possible deal. I recognized the slat wall end caps immediately. Glad to see them alive and well. Also, nice movie collection, just my cup of tea.
Loved when the camera turned around and you could see the aisles! That's some library goals right there, haha. Would have loved to see quick top to bottom pans of all the shelves like with the DVD shelf, so that I could pause and take a closer look, but hey, that's me. I hope you like your new setup!
I would love to see an updated video on your bookshelves / library! :) I could see that, you driving home with bookshelves in the back, haha that's awesome!!
In Dubai each day people leave almost brand new furniture near the dumpsters and they do it in the outskirts of the city to avoid getting caught , the reason being you can't sell it and are required by law to dispose it properly for which you have to pay an amount that can possibly buy you new furniture.
That’s nuts! I wonder why it’s illegal to resell? Oh well, I guess the lower-income residents of Dubai know where to go to find quality furniture for free.
OMG talk about thrift store finds. I get my bookshelves from Goodwill and other resources. I love that you got them from the trash hahaha. I use to bring mine home in a Toyota Prius and it was actually the perfect size for a tall shelf. I feel similarly about owning books and wanting to be surrounded.
Superb :) I am very happy we finally got to delve deep into the SFF180 library and that definitely was a fabulous find with the shelves! Looking forward to seeing the new set up and the books you decide to keep featured behind you there. Love your dog btw, very cute!
I came here from your most recent video (26/7/21). It was in the recommended list. When Borders came to Australia it was a revelation. There was a store in Sydney's CBD and I worked very close to it. I discovered so many magazines I had no idea that existed. Boy I subscribed to way too many magazines. They take up more space than books. Thank goodness for the ebook revolution. I was very sad when they disappeared. However, as you say, being surrounded by books is a calming, lovely feeling. History is my other literary favourite. No doubt you'd be aware of Tom Holland who writes popular history books as well as vampire novels. He's my current favourite history writer. (and there is science, music and "human thought" P.S. Toyota Corollas were very well made cars back in the day.
Hello from a fellow Texan. Just came across your channel (after looking at your Goodreads), enjoyed your library tour, cannot agree more with older movies,
+Vanessa Buttino Awesome! The funny thing about history is that it allows you to be super-granular about specific interests. You do have all of humanity's past to choose from, after all. So it's totally normal to be weird and say "I love ancient civilizations, the Black Death, and fin de siècle Paris but mainly the 19th arrondisement. Also, Bogie movies."
I will always buy a mass market copy over a hardcover or trade paperback. Yeah it's usually easy to switch out books if you want to move something to storage and bring back something else.
This was bad ass & well worth the wait! My jaw dropped at the trashed shelving!!! I need to troll the back of closing businesses for the rest of my life!!! That's amazing! Love the exit footage too.
I worked in Borders for almost four years and even before you mentioned the bookshelves I thought "Shit...those are from Borders". And you're very lucky. When my location went into liquidation, they were selling all the fixtures off, nothing got trashed. I think the shelves went for $300 and up.
Love the editing on this video, easily one of the most enjoyable library tours I've seen. Very jealous of the shelving story - all loot gained at the end of an epic quest is the most rewarding.
Omg Borders!! I miss that place. Same with Atlantic Books. I used to love going to the mall to go book shopping. But that's such a good idea to get bookshelves from a book store. Although an unfortunate way to get them, but still a great idea! I'm in such awe of your library. Also your dog is adorable!
Hahahahaa, oh...my...goodness...that bookshelf story is wild! Ahh...totally agree :) I sometimes just stare at my shelves and all my books, it makes me so so happy. Also, fantastic editing in this video!
I used to work at a small Borders around the time it shut down, I thought I recognized those shelves right before you told that story! Very epic score on those! I hope the move went well!
What a great video! Through and though! The demise of Borders. The shelf rescue. With all the heart and humor I love about this channel. That inspirational sally forth into tomorrow at the end, too --- the whole thing was just so much fun.
Thanks Thomas. As much as I loved seeing all the books, I especially loved the story about how you got the shelves. That was an incredible find, getting all those shelves for free. That movie collection is amazing. I only have a few Criterion movies, mostly Kurosawa films. Hope the move went well.
From 14.43 until the outro, that is some genuinely sick music-video-meets-short-form-documentary editing. Cuing up the highway footage to coincide with the beat-drop is f***ing magical. This is one I always revisit, from your archives. You deserve to be so proud of these, man.
I'm amazed you don't have 10k+ subscribers. Your videos are always so well done. I'd love to see a video of movie recommendations. Bonus points for your lovely senior canine companion :)
This is exactly why I love SF too! It brings hope for a better future. And what an impressive library you have... I already feel overwhelmed with +600 books, can't imagine dealing with that many. ;) Also, very cute dog!
I can't stop commenting! So you're a giallo film fan. I should have seen that, actually. Bravo. I discovered all of that when Anchor Bay hit the gas in the 90s and rolled out dozens of Italo-horror and suspense classics on Region 1 DVDs. Anchor Bay. Borders. Memory lane, eh?
Your shelf story was amazing, I honestly couldn't stop smiling. And I can't believe I haven't discovered your channel till now! Not a fan of Booktube personally, but your channel is amazing. :)
I have been waiting for this so long. Very impressive, love your Borders story, I never thought of that, having three Borders in my area that closed. All the best of luck to you, Thomas. I assume you will have quite a mailbag Monday soon!!
That was an amazing shelf story. I understand what you mean about having more books than you can ever read. My SF & F audiobook collection is nearing 9,000 books!
Wow, getting all those bookcases free is amazing and for free I would have made several trips as well. I wasn't surprised when Borders went out of business just because of how I had been treated the past 2 times I had went before it closed.
just seen and subscribed. I need to do a bookshelf tour myself now owning my house for a year but want to do it when my library is complete. But i keep on thinking that I'm a reader my library will never be completed until i die or can't read anymore. But love your brandon sanderson collection i have met him and have most of his books signed. I need to do a tour soon.
The bookshelf tour!! Yeahie! That brought a smile to my face and wow that's a lot of books! I was wondering how you would do the tour. And I wish I'd thought to check Borders for shelves when they were going out of business. My mind was on grabbing as many cheap books as I could.
That's crazy that they just threw out all the shelves! I would have done the same thing if my car would have fit them (it wouldn't) lol And you pup is so cute!
I love watching booktube but have a hard time finding new fantasy and scifi recommendations that aren’t YA. nothing against YA but I’m just into the more adult genre now and it’s hard finding booktubers that are more focused on that. Thanks for all the recommendations!
Thomartin, I make this pledge: If I ever win Lotto or get a crazy amount of money in some other way, I am moving to where you are and opening a SFF book store. We'll have a rare books room, author signing, the works. I'll run it at a loss if need be. There will also be fine alcohol. An Alamo Bookhouse, at it were. I am completely serious. Why be another nouveau riche jerkoff collecting Ferraris? Bookstore for me.
