If you’re like me, and love book stores, this post won’t say anything you don’t already know.
In an age where physical bookstores are being visited less and less, it seems more and more important to spread the word on how special they really can be.
It’s rare to be able to walk into a store that’s so familiar, yet so mysterious. The bookstore you frequent will look nearly the same each time you go in, but the shelves are filled with books that are new to you. Maybe you’ve seen some of them, and even read your fair share, but there’s always a few more that you’ve yet to have any experience with.
A bookstore is like taking all of your memories, hopes, dreams, wishes, inhibitions, and desires, giving them a physical form and then surrounding yourself with them. It’s magical.
With other areas of retail, bigger stores tend to mean a less personal feel. More corporate influence, yada, yada, yada. While I’m sure that’s true to some degree with book stores as well, that magic feeling tends to get even stronger with a bigger store.
I live in a smallish city. Not tiny, but not big enough to have a nice, big Chapters or Indigo. So when I get the chance to roll into a bigger store, I take it.
Most of us bookworms could be in the middle of a full-on panic attack and if we turned around and suddenly found ourselves in a book store a strange calm would come over us. Questions about how the hell we got there would eventually service, but it would take a few minutes, and they’d just be general musings at that point.
I guess what I’m saying is don’t stop going to book stores. I know there are plenty of reasons why online is more efficient, or cheaper, but there’s no magic in online shopping. And I’m not telling anyone to stop shopping online, either. Just stroll in. Just every once in a little while.
Fun fact about this post: There’s a drip outside my window that’s driving my nuts as a try to write about the tranquility of a bookstore.
You are so right! There is nothing that can pull me out of a bad mood quite like a bookstore! I love independent bookstores but honestly my favourite place to be is Chapters! It instantly puts a smile on my face!
It’s an awesome place. I was in Toronto on the weekend, but there just wasn’t time to go to the massive Indigo at the Eaton Center. BOO!
I am with you 100 percent! I am fortunate enough to have a small indie near me that is constantly trying to stay afloat. Whenever I go in I buy a book. I try to buy a book that I haven’t heard of before or a new release that slipped past my radar, but the biggest thing about this shop for me in addition to the book is the community. I meet so many cool bookish people and we meet up once a month for book club at the store, and we also do author events, and knitting nights! It’s a place of refuge and a great way to meet new people.
So true. There’s nothing better than strolling the aisles and looking at the covers and spines. Every time I go there I see something new that I may not have considered. And I always end up having a conversation about books with a random person – whether they wanted to talk to me or not! I went to the bigger Chapters Indigo in London (not by the white oaks mall) and I swear I drooled
PS – hope the drop stopped! ?
Actually going to a bookstore has become a rare thing in my book-buying routine, that’s true! Mostly I order my books from Amazon. And since I live in a town where there is not ONE decent bookstore, this adds to not making an effort. But I do remember when I bought all my books after having physically fet the magic of it. You are absolutely right! It does feel like being surrounded by a thousand different worlds waiting to take you in. I miss that magic but the easy availability of online stores is making it difficult to go back to that old routine. ?
Convenience is a monolith not easily defeated. I still buy books online. Even further, I sometimes buy eBooks. But, I still make time for the brick & mortar stores.