Borders or Kinokuniya? It was a difficult choice for me to make whenever I was at Orchard Road on Sundays with my family. More often than not, I would go with Borders but it is sadly no longer an option today.
I loved how wide and inviting the entrance to Borders was, emanating a welcoming feel, much like how a hospitable host greets his guests. Past the opening, I would head directly for the children’s section – a cozy corner at the other end of Borders. The shelves were always messy and the books were strewn all over the place, so I had to hunt around for my desired book. The Magic Tree House, Captain Underpants, or Enid Blyton’s books – they were all there in the shelves waiting to be found, like hidden gems among the wide array of books on offer. Come to think of it, even though it was a hassle to locate the books this way, it was also part of the experience and a small price to pay for reading the book free-of-charge.
After obtaining my book, I would settle down in a corner to read. The children’s section had a spacious area with sofas arranged in a ring in the middle of the space. Those were the happy days where I would sit there for hours and finish reading a book by the time my parents were done shopping at Orchard Road. The guilt of reading a book without paying at all never struck my young mind then! In fact, one reason why I frequently chose Borders over Kinokuniya was the absence of plastic wrapping over the books. I admit that this mentality among many of Borders’ patrons translated to losses for the company, but it seemed perfectly fine to free-ride then, for everyone was doing it.
As I grew older, I gradually moved away from the children’s section and wandered into the adult literature section. With no particular book in mind, I would walk along the rows of books and marvel at the sheer quantity available for my picking. Occasionally, I would carefully remove those which caught my interest from the shelf to take a closer look. After examining the blurb on the back cover, I place the book back reverently on the shelf, feeling a little wiser than before. Adults mostly bustled around the non-fiction section while the kids, around the children’s section. Somehow, the literature section was an exclusive area where only a few visited and I was delighted to be a part of the privileged group.
Nowadays, whenever I walk into the Marks & Spencer outlet that has taken over Borders’ premises, I would glance wistfully at the areas where I used to linger, thinking, “How nice it would be if I could be there again, reading just as I have always done”. I now visit Kinokuniya on Sundays and still revel in the plethora of books on offer, yet still, I miss the dilemma that I used to face.