Books a Million

BAM is located in the same place Borders used to be before Borders filed for bankruptcy. It’s even set up the same way Borders was.
And like Borders, every time I call or go there to look for a book I’m told «Sorry, it’s not available in store, but if you want we can order it for you for home delivery».
So much for saving shipping and handling money. Better just to order online and be done with it rather than wasting my time calling or going to the store.

i love this place so much! I feel like every time I come here I could spend hours and hours just looking at everything. Please install hammocks, though — I want to stay all damn day and read!

Books, Lovely setup, free wifi, coffee. What more can you ask for? Wish they had better food/​snack selections.

I have visited this particular Books a Million once previously, before walking in again this morning, and I was able to have a better look around than before (I uploaded photos for those interested).
I had not been in a Books a Million until I moved here to MD; they are not in Austin, TX. My first impression is that it is like a somewhat downgraded Barnes & Nobles in looks, and a little less so in product. There is ample lighting, but it feels kinda dull (dark?).
When you walk in, you do see echoes of Barnes & Nobles, down to the Nook display and counter (hint, hint), but I am not sure if there is any actual affiliation. It certainly isn’t as lively as any of the Barnes & Nobles I have been in, despite the presence of a Joe Muggs café. This morning there were like 3 people sat in the café, and about 4 more customers and 3 employees.
It is as quiet as a library. They have several shelves to the right-​side filled with bargain books, and depending on your genre of choice, they are either well-​represented with cheap buys, or not. I am a Current Affairs/​Politics/​Modern History book junkie, so people like me are S.O.L. :(But if you like Cooking, you’re well covered.
The rest of the bookstore, i. e the entire left-​side of the front entry, and back walls, has regularly priced books and other bits — toys, games, etc. I was disappointed with their Current Affairs section, because it doesn’t specifically exist. There are two sections named Social Science and Politics that are adjacent, and the books are just mixed in. However, the shelves are not stuffed with volumes and there are several spaces between books. Not threadbare-​looking, but it gives you the feeling that their entire catalog for this section is not out on display. The books are regularly priced, and I did snap the odd title just to check if it would be cheaper online. I didn’t really check out the other topical shelves, as I wasn’t interested in anything else today, so I am uncertain if the other sections are similar.
Ok — there is only so much you can say about a bookshop — it has books in it. What is missing from here is the ambiance. It just feels… dead. It was empty before when I visited a few weeks ago, and it was dead as disco again today. I have to check this place out on a weekend, when most people are presumably out and shopping. I hope it has a nicer buzz to it then, what with the coffee shop — as otherwise, it feels about as inspiring as a dentist’s waiting room.
There are no pictures or decorations on the walls — at least not that I noticed, which made the place feel more hollow than a Barnes & Nobles. Its not as institutional or sterile looking as a well-​worn public library, but it doesn’t feel «happy.» I don’t know what other word to use, the place just felt kinda dead. It has books and stuff in it, but it just doesn’t feel «right» to me. Maybe I’m just a weirdo, I guess, but it feels like I am in a building that happens to have books in it, rather than a good bookstore. I can’t even recall now if there was background music playing. And weirdly enough, I normally feel compelled to grab a coffee and browse the stacks and shelves and tables — but here @ BAM, I barely felt like lingering, and the sense of emptiness just didn’t compel me to want to fry away my morning before finding a place to watch the Italy v Costa Rica match this lunchtime.
I actually get the feeling that this is like a smaller, satellite store of sorts. It is in the middle of a shopping plaza wedged between an Advance Auto Parts and a Sports Authority, and further down a Burlington Coat Factory and a hair salon supply type store. Yeah, action-​packed. The store front is kinda sad-​looking, not a stand-​alone outlet mall-​esque location at all.
I really love bookstores — and I want to like this BAM — but I can’t get over the empty, lifeless feeling I got on visiting it twice now. It also sucks, for me anyway, that it is in bloody Waldorf and I have to drive 20 mins out to feel… lifeless, lol! But I think the area I live in wouldn’t really appreciate a nice bookstore much, anyway.
On the plus side, the employees I’ve encountered are very helpful, and quick to smile and say «hi.» And I’ve been around them as they talk about books, so it seems they enjoy being around books and not just there because its a Walmart-​type job.
And before I forget — in addition to the Joe Muggs café, they have Wi-​fi access — BUT I think you have to be a member of the charmingly-​named Millionaires Club Card scheme, for 25 Federal Reserve notes.
For what it’s worth, if you go to the BAM website now, at the top of the landing page, you’ll notice that they are offering a $ 5 off a $ 35 purchase code, for use in-​store.
That’s a way to get out there and check it out yourself, right?! Happy browsing — and help give the place some life!

I had a gift certificate for BAM and only 30 mins. in which to spend it (movie starting), so I had to get in, choose, and get out. I pulled up a wish list on my phone and started looking on my own. It didn’t go well. I looked around for some help on the floor, and there was a guy, but he was helping someone else. I went to the front counter, and one of the people at the counter was happy to help. He patiently looked through their inventory on the computer, as I went through my wish list. Admittedly, they did not have several of the books that interested me (thus the reason I knocked off a star), but I don’t have «common» taste in books (we’ll say). I wasn’t entirely surprised that they didn’t have some of those books. Finally, we hit on a few that they had, and he insisted on helping me find them (not just telling me where to find them). We quickly located the books, I paid (same guy), and off I went. I made it to the movie without a problem. Mission accomplished.
Seems people are pretty hard on them in the reviews below. It was pretty much what I expected from a bookstore, and I’m glad they’re still around. I found everyone to be friendly and helpful.

What could be a step down from Borders in the big cookie cutter bookstore sector? Books a Million.
I’m not sure if this is a result of this particular franchise of knowing their audience or if this is how all their bookstores are organized, but I’m still cringing at the loss of a decently large science/​math section for an expanded New Age section that BAM has brought. Stay classy, Waldorf.