I missed that reference way back when, or I would have corrected it. Yes, Kmart in their infinite wisdom bought Borders back in the....80s, I think, as well as Waldenbooks. Later they were spun out together as Borders Group Inc. Kmart also owned OfficeMax for a while. Borders was appealing because of their inventory expertise. At the time there was little out there that rivaled their system of automatic reordering of stock and tracking of trends. Now, though, from what I've heard they've put very little effort into it since that long ago time.

Still, though that poster was incorrect about the current ownership, the sentiment of "not like supporting your local bookseller" is certainly true. I do find it the best of the chains, and in some places that's about all you can do because there aren't many indie stores around.

If you want a store that's still fairly indie but with a Borders sort of format, try these guys http://www.josephbeth.com/ Only works in a few cities, though. Trivia: the "Beth" in Joseph-Beth is Mary Beth Borders, of that same family. Caused no end of trouble, even though Borders is a public company. Apparently there's still some family involvement there. Bet they don't get invited to Thanksgiving. Other than that you have your famous big indie stores like Powell's, etc.