Story pick: The cost of free time

Mike Rosenwald says he usually likes to write about what's coming next, what trends are on the horizon. But I was glad when I saw that he was writing about the imminent death of Borders, and the cultural shift it represents. Who hasn't spent an idle afternoon in one of these stores, browsing away as if it were the public library? Mike deftly points to a slew of problems, calling the demise "a tale of strategic errors, missed opportunities and revolving-door management" at a time when books can be downloaded quick and often for less. Then there is Susan Orlean, who writes in her blog at the New Yorker that, like so many of us, she spent more time than money at the store. Which was exactly the allure.