If I Could Squish a Chain Store, This Is the One I Would Pick

I have long had a very soft spot in my heart for Barnes & Noble.

When I was a teen, after Waldenbooks and B. Dalton closed in our local mall, a B&N opened and it definitely became my bookstore. I worked at a Barnes and Noble briefly (in the children's section!). I bought a nook within a week of its initial release. And it's one of those stores that, if I'm in a strange place or town, I'll seek out for comfort. Green awning, coffee and books everywhere: basically a recipe for calming me down no...