Whither Waldenbooks?

Over a year and a half ago, I commented here on my bad Waldenbooks karma -- specifically, how three Waldenbooks stores I have frequented over the years had closed -- and noted that if the MacArthur Center Waldenbooks should close, it would probably be my fault, as I used to browse there often when I worked in downtown Norfolk.

Well, it appears that my near-total absence from downtown Norfolk for two years was not enough: it was in the paper recently that that very store in MacArthur Center is closing shortly.

And they, unfortunately, are not the only new victim of the jinx of Major Rakal. Last week I dropped by the Waldenbooks in Lynnhaven Mall to browse, and was greeted by clearance signs posted all over the store -- 25% off everything, because, you guessed it, the store is closing at the end of the month. Even worse, the clerk told me that the Pembroke Mall store is closing as well.

I'd lay odds that the Greenbrier store will also fold up its tents before too long, making a clean sweep of the area (unless there's still one in Military Circle?) and leaving only one Borders and assorted Barnes & Nobles. And considering that Borders is Waldenbooks' parent company, I'm guessing that they're soon going to kill off Waldenbooks entirely.

I've been more or less expecting this ever since they dropped the longstanding Waldenbooks Preferred Reader program in favor of the fairly useless Borders Rewards plan. But that doesn't make the loss any less keenly felt.