I go to a bookstore everyday- but, then, I’m strange like that. I work at a bookstore.
When I leave work, I go to different bookstores for fun- but, then, I’m strange like that. I love books.
I recently read a report that stated 70% of adults in the United States haven’t been in a bookstore in the last five years. Are books boring? Are bookstores boring?
Books, like any commodity, have increased in price over the years. Does the price keep us from buying books?
If you do buy books, you are able to sit in your underwear at home, on the computer and buy books from the Internet. Is that more appealing than getting dressed and going to a bookstore? Is this convenience or laziness?
Many bookstores have built cafes and now serve food and coffee. Are books interesting only if they come with food and drink? Are bookstores now just coffee houses with a few books to sell?
Would more people come to bookstores if there were video games to play, movies to watch, roller coasters to ride? If these things were available at the bookstore, would the bookstore be a bookstore anymore?
I’ve been thinking about these questions quite a lot lately. I can’t imagine my life without bookstores. To me, they are exciting places where I can buy books about nearly any subject imaginable. The books themselves are entertainment.
I realize there are many things vying for our time and attention these days- I too feel the pressures of the modern world. But, I make time to go to bookstores. I make time to read. I do it for work. I do it to learn. I do it for pleasure. But, then, I’m strange like that.
What then, would make bookstores exciting places? What would make you make time to visit a bookstore? An author signing their new book? A book club discussion group? A movie night?
What would make a bookstore THE place to be for you? Share your comments with us. Inquiring minds would like to know what YOU think about bookstores and what would make them more interesting, vibrant and fun places to be.
While you think about this, I’ll be at the bookstore. But, then again, I’m strange like that.
Yay I’m the first to comment! Anyway, I love books too. If I had the money, I would go buy a lot books. As for me, I love bookstores more than buying online, because you get them instantly and you get to read any part of the book you want before you buy. It is, in my opinion ten billion times more convenient than books online.
What is more is that I love the smells of a books store, the quietness, the peace. I love the smells of paper and how calm it is a bookstore. Unlike at home where there are all these distractions and in a library which is old and musty, I would rather go to a bookstore and study, read or blog. I love books stores just as much a books themselves.
Unfortunately, not ll people fell the same as us in our bibliophilia (is that even word?). I just don’t see how anyone could not like to read. What is it about reading that just revolts some people? I don’t know, but what ever it is, I’m glad I don’t have it.
[...] on June 4, 2008 by Matthias Oreklein So I was recently browsing my tags and I stumbled upon this article, and I got to thinking yeah we need bookstores. At first you think, bookstores are that different [...]
I take my kids and hang out in bookstores with them.
Sometimes they beg me to take them there. We grab interesting things off the shelves and curl up to read them. I show them books I read as a kid, or find awesome new titles with them by exploring the store the way we would a state park hiking trail or public playground. The kids go there to buy birthday presents for each other.
But then, our family is strange like that.
I cannot pass a bookstore or book sale without going in and buying something. I think it might be a sickness.
I agree with you, and I have that same disease- unfortunately (or fortunately) there is no known cure. You can only occasionally bring the fever down, usually with the lack of money.