Book Store Withdrawal

I'm probably like most people when it comes to finding something great to read. I use the Google machine, right? I like to see what is top selling. I like to see which categories people are reading most often. It gives me a sense of where the best reads are coming from. I also use my Kindle Fire a lot for this kind of research because of its ease-of-use. The Amazon book store practically does all the work for you. Digital is the way people are reading their books now. I get it. I like that I can carry 30 books with me anywhere I want to go to read them. I also like that I have access to them immediately, which is helpful if I'm reading a series.

You know what I like even better than instant access to my must read list? I like reading a real book. Yep, paper cuts and split spines; curled covers and dog-eared pages. I like my favorite books with the old yellow highlighted lines and scrawled notes from past reads. I love the smell from fanning the pages of a book, and the feel of paper between my thumb and index finger. There is something special about turning the page to see what happens next that cannot be replaced by the swipe of a finger (at least not for me).

My love for these things started when I was young. I would flip through the pages of Mom's Danielle Steel books before I could even read what was on the page. When I was in elementary school we had a book fair that would come every year. It was my favorite. New books that we didn't have in the school library would be there. The "If you liked _____, then you'll love _____." lists. The newest Goosebumps book. There were too many reason I loved this time of year, but it breaks down into 1 solid fact about me. I love books.

It is a necessity, maybe a compulsion, for me to browse the book store. I feel at home there. I remember things about my childhood, or silly stories from the past whenever I'm there. Just ask my girlfriend how often I frequent the book store. I'm sure she will say that I spend too much time there. However, the time I spend now is a whole lot less than when we had a big chain store here in St. Joe. I really like the big chain stores. They have anything you want and the ability to get it for you, often at no extra cost. Don't get me wrong, I like the Ma & Pa shops too, but I'll get to that in a moment. The drag for me when I found out they were closing the big store was that it meant I had to accept that people were changing the way they read their books. I didn't like it. Everybody loves to read books the same way I do, or so I thought. Now, done and gone, I find myself still tied to the need to put something in my hands that won't loose power after hours of reading. (I read a lot on my Kindle.) We still have Hastings and that's great, but I find myself browsing the same shelves over and over again, and just...bored. So this is it. I'm going hunting. I'm going to start looking for those small shops, those Ma & Pa stores, to revive my love for finding treasures bound and stapled. I want to hold the stories that others have loved. This is my mission, so if you have any suggestions please comment, and I'll let you know what I find.

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