I love books! Let me re-emphasize that…I LOVE books! I can get lost in a Barnes & Noble or Books-a-million. I can walk around for hours, reading titles and book summaries. I scan the bestsellers and new reads. I dig a little deeper in the sale or clearance section. Some days, I walk out of there with a bag of books. Other days, I have self-control and leave with nothing. Those days are rare.
Then you have days like the other day. I had two hours to spare, so instead of sitting in my car and scrolling through social media, I found a place with free wifi. I had a few choices. Starbucks is always an option, but it seems to be a popular place for folks to hang out. I could have went to Panera, but its noisy and sometimes the smell of baking bread is overwhelming. My normal little coffee shop was closed for the day. So, I ended up at Joe Muggs inside Books-a-million. I knew as soon as I walked in, I needed to get distracted. I ordered a chai latte and found a table in the cafe area. However, there I sat with the historical fiction and beach reads displays right in my view over my laptop.
Since I was young, I have loved reading. My dad claims I started reading at the age of 3. I can’t confirm or deny that information. Apparently, he was reading the newspaper with me in his lap. I just started reading the headlines out loud. I remember as a kid, I always had a book on hand when we traveled. People always said I was shy growing up. Looking back now, maybe I wasn’t shy but rather i was just reading. My grandma had book shelves full of the Reader’s Digest condensed novels. I read them all. I went to the library near my house frequently. At yard sales, I would head straight to the books. Reading was just my thing.
As I got older, I discovered book stores. Brightly lit stores with rows and rows of colorful book covers. It met my urge to read as well as provided some much needed retail therapy from time to time. So many choices, so little time to read them all. I have multiple book shelves in my house—books I’ve read and books I want to read. There’s nothing like reading a book on paper. Turning the page is so satisfying. Seeing the cover with the artwork that may or may not help you jump into the story. And jump in is what I do. If it’s a good book, I’ll lose sleep and ignore other responsibilities until I finish. The book store is like my drug dealer, and books are my crack.
Then we have e-books. I don’t dislike e-books. Early on you had to have a special e-reader, like a Kindle or a Nook. Today, you can read the e-books anywhere, even your phone. It’s great. You can travel with a whole library of books on your iPad. And you can link your account on all your devices, so you can jump right back in on your phone or other tablets. Sometimes I will come to the bookstore and peruse the bestsellers, so I can go home and buy the e-book online. Plus, now you can check e-books out at the library for free. Whoa! However, even though the e-reader’s animation tries to mimic turning the page, you don’t get that feel of paper and the sensation of holding the book open with two hands when you are reading on a mobile device.
Yes, the bookstore is dangerous. Great displays of young adult books and beach reads and biographies and romance and….I could go on and on. There’s also the accessories you can buy like journals and fancy pens plus bookmarks and lights so you can read in the dark. I went to a giant bookstore in South Korea, and half the store was merchandise. The English translation of such items said, “Souvenirs.” Yes, they are like souvenirs of the great journey and adventure that each bookstore trip entails. Its all set-up so well, trying to entice a book addict like myself to pull out your bookstore membership card and give them your money. They do a great job!
Here’s another way they draw you in….the coffee shops in-store and free wifi. I will also admit, they have clean restrooms…and that may be an excuse I’ve used before to stop at bookstore. Did I mention there’s no time limit in the cafe. I could sit there all night, or at least until they closed. I needed free wifi the other day to do some work on my laptop. And I needed a nice table to lay out all my stuff. So there I was… sipping my hot drink, listening to the nice music over the loudspeaker, logged into their wifi, typing away on my laptop, and occasionally looking up at the pretty books calling my name. Danger, Will Robinson! I left the store with just one book from the sale section, but I just went in to use the free wifi.
I’ll admit, if there is one addiction that I can live with, books and reading are my drug of choice. Books take you away to lands far away, and they also teach you a lesson or two. There’s also serious books like textbooks and non-fiction. I like those, too. Really, I do. I still have textbooks in my “garage bookshelves” from my college days…and I graduated over 30 years ago. Yes, there are multiple sets of bookshelves in my house. If I had the space, I would just make my own library. Don’t tell me, “you don’t need another book.” Maybe, I don’t need you and your opinion. Sorry, that’s the book addict in me talking.
Recently, I read an article that said reading to young children daily made them smarter. It stimulates their imagination, builds their curiosity, develops their language and listening skills….and most importantly it introduces them to books and develops healthy habits. In another article, I read that reading can reduce stress, alleviate depression, and help you live longer. Wow! All that good stuff happens when we read a book, either aloud to a child or quietly to ourselves. There’s also the increase in knowledge we gain from a book and the exercise it provides our brain. This isn’t a bad drug…it’s more like a secret health elixir.
My point in admitting I am a book addict is that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Yes, that’s me sitting alone in the back of the waiting room and reading a book. I’m not being anti-social. On the contrary, the book characters and I are traveling the world and making new friends. At the end of the day, they will go back inside the book, and I will go back to being a busy single mom supporting my kids while they live their best life. And…if I give you a book as a present, understand that this gift is just as precious as anything I could have found on Amazon. Plus, buying that book for you helped calm the beast inside of me, itching to buy more books. All hail, the mighty bookstore and the next great read!