<p>Amidst all the hassle of postponed move in, I just wanted to inject one bright spot. The new UDel Barnes & Noble bookstore is really super. First off, it's quite large, with lots of space in the book areas and at the cafe on the first floor for sitting while having a Starbucks coffee (they were bringing in lots more comfy chairs this morning). Upstairs there's a small Apple Nook (so to speak). The Main and Academy Street location is ideal. They are pushing the downloadable PC and Mac Nook textbook reader, but I've heard that by December there will be a new textbook version of the Nook as well.</p>
<p>I think the location is not as good as the old one for most dorms. It’s certainly not as close for Russell. They’re now on Main Street with their two competitors, so they lost the advantage of being right on campus. I did not see student pricing on the Mac stuff, I assume if you show an ID card they will tell you what it is.</p>
<p>As for e-textbook rentals, it’s rare that I have seen one available for less than a used book, if you look around.</p>
<p>You may be right, misterbill, about dorm convenience, I hadn’t given it much thought since my D lives down Academy Street. The layout of new bookstore, unfortunately makes all the rest of the bookstores on Main Street look poor and dated by comparison. But slickness isn’t everything, by a long shot. I can’t say enough about how helpful and nice all the people were at Delaware Book Exchange on Thursday afternoon. I might (if I were a student that is) go to B&N for a coffee or a new leisure book, but the DBE was super for textbooks.</p>
<p>Yes, when I have dealt with DBE they’ve been very nice. I did not spend a lot of time at B&N but I was not all that impressed. The inside of the building seemed like of plain. Yes, it’s big and open. The Apple section was just a few tables at the top of the stairs. And then you had racks of textbooks upstairs. The cafe was nice and I liked the Main Street old style facade. The black exterior on Academy Street I could take or leave.</p>