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Books-A-Million, 4840 Forest Drive: 15 March 2014   12 comments

Posted at 12:58 am in Uncategorized

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Well, if you've been reading Have Your Say, then you know commenter joelc scooped The State by a week on the news that Books-A-Million in Trenholm Plaza is closing.

I've spent many an hour in the Trenholm Plaza store. When I was younger, and the store was open until 11pm, I would often grab a late-night latte there as I browsed the shelves and magazine racks. In more recent years, I've found a good night's sleep more and more important, and the store has stopped opening so late anyway.

Of course in recent years, I've also done most of my reading on a Kindle and have had less and less need for an actual, physical, bookstore. I still look for comic strip collections, which work better printed, and technical books, but it often seems that given my technical needs, and humor tastes, I'm more likely to find those online as well. I'm definitely not alone in this, as evidenced by the closings of the Harbison Books-A-Million, the Harbison Barnes & Noble, The Happy Bookseller and the list goes on..

The State article suggests that rather than the chain keeping the space and re-working it as they did on Harbison, new clothing retailers will be moving in.

For all us Millionaire's Club members,

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there's still Sandhill, and Lexington.

For now.

(Hat tip to commenter joelc)

UPDATE 4 March 2014 -- Here are some pix from back during the snow of the place with the Store Closing sign deployed:

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8 March 2014:

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14 March 2014:

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16 March 2014:

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29 March 2014:

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UPDATE 31 March 2014: Added 14 March 2014 pix, 16 March 2014 & 29 March 2014 pix.

UPDATE 1 October 2014: Added 8 March 2014 pix.

Written by ted on February 10th, 2014

Tagged with , , , , , ,

12 Responses to 'Books-A-Million, 4840 Forest Drive: 15 March 2014'

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  1. I'm part of the problem. I have a somewhat...eclectic taste, and it is far cheaper to buy used books online.

    I'm gonna miss the bookstores, even though I know their time has passed.

    tonkatoy

    10 Feb 14 at 7:43 am

  2. Yes, the time has passed on book stores. And that includes public libraries. I didn't vote for the bond referendum this past November and I will never vote for a tax hike or bond referendum for public libraries. And now Richland County wants to build more libraries with our tax dollars! What is wrong with the people in charge?!?!? Now my property taxes are going to go up $24-$28 for this non sense. Old people still living in the past. It's 2014, there's no need for libraries like there was back in the 80's when I was a kid. With the $59 million dollars, they could take $10 million and buy 50,000 kindles @ $200 a piece. With the total of just below 50,000 kids in Richland School District 1 and 2, every kid could have a kindle. And we as tax payers could save $49 million.

    Sidney

    10 Feb 14 at 8:06 pm

  3. The internet hasn't replaced brick and mortar libraries like it has bookstores, and I don't expect it ever will. Libraries are much more than a place to go borrow books. It'll be a sad day if ted ever has to do a closing on the RCPL system.

    Jason

    10 Feb 14 at 9:37 pm

  4. I'm sort of like tonkatoy is when it comes to books. I used to be a big Stephen King and Michael Crichton reader, but I would never buy the books when they first came out. l would wait until I found the hardbacks in a discount bin for $5-$10 or the paperbacks came out. I used to frequent the used books store that was located at the entrance to Market Pointe back in the day. Back in the stone ages when I was a kid my favorite book stores were Waldenbooks, B Dalton and Browz-A-Bit (they always had the cheap Star Trek paperback novels). The thing I will really miss with the demise of B&N and BAM will be the magazine selection. I don't know of anywhere else in Columbia you can fins such a selection.

    Homer

    11 Feb 14 at 12:54 am

  5. Yeah, the magazine section rivals the old Capitol News Stand.

    tonkatoy

    11 Feb 14 at 7:32 am

  6. I was at the Lexington location not that long ago and it was in really bad shape. The carpet had to be the original from when the store opened and it was all dirty and coming up places also they had patched holes in it with carpet that did not even match. The fixtures were all beat up and there was no seating to sit and read. I think it would be good for them to close this location or really spend some money fixing it up.

    William

    11 Feb 14 at 11:11 am

  7. Was a bit heartbroken to read this. My second year in grad school in the late '90s, I lived in a ratty apartment not far from Five Points. If I wanted to escape the noisy frat boys downstairs (which was often), I'd usually go to Richland (Fashion) Mall and have something at the food court, then my next stop would usually be that Books-A-Million. I've spent many an hour (and many a dollar) there. Its time may have come, but that doesn't make it hurt any less.

    Alaska Jill

    13 Feb 14 at 9:51 pm

  8. folks the signage has been removed from the building of this spot...I contacted Books A Million corporate to see if there were any plans to make this a 2nd and Charles (akin to what happened with the former Books A Million at Harbison Center last year) but was told they were unaware of any such plans with this store (hopeful that there will be post-closing pics on this post soon)...

    Andrew

    28 Mar 14 at 7:33 pm

  9. I heard from my wife that this is going to become J Crew and Aeropostale.

    Matt

    31 Mar 14 at 9:51 am

  10. That's surprising, if true. J.Crew's profits are way, way down lately.

    Jason

    31 Mar 14 at 12:54 pm

  11. My wife heard J. Crew and Anthropologie.

    Kevin

    12 Apr 14 at 3:45 pm

  12. The State reports the Books-A-Million space will be divided between J. Crew and Anthropologie.

    ted

    29 Apr 14 at 11:14 pm

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