It’s no secret I’m a reader. I’ve been that way my whole life. My mom says I had my nose in a book before I could even read. It made sense that bookstores and libraries became like second homes to me. It also helped that my mom is also a reader.
For years, we went to the same Barnes and Noble store, until it closed a few years ago to make way for a Toys R Us. My mom becomes nauseous when she smells coffee, but, for books, she braved walking by the Starbucks at the entrance. Besides, the fiction section was further in and you couldn’t even smell the coffee that far in. The fountain outside was like an oasis for my younger siblings, who are not the readers my mom and I are. When they got bored, my mom and I could find them there with my dad when we were done.
As I got older and started saving my money, I was the one asking to go to the bookstore. I already knew how much most books were and I had already strategized how to get the most number of books for how much money I had saved. I usually had my eye on a few books, so it didn’t take me long to find what I wanted and count to make sure I could afford it. My mom was another story. She always took awhile to decide.
By the time I was getting ready to graduate from high school, my mom and I were going to the bookstore almost every week. One day we were checking out with the manager. He smiled when he saw us and said he remembered us from years ago. He remembered a little girl with her nose in a book following her mom around the store
Well, my mom did wander all over the store in her search for the perfect next book to read. And I did usually pick my books first. So I was often found tagging after my mom, already deep in one book.
It was a little creepy, but it also made me realize just how much I love books and how often my mom and I went to the bookstore. It was like a second home.
But what I really miss is wandering the aisles, looking to see what’s on the shelves, seeing what’s popular and finding single, solitary gems that the store will no longer carry because they are old titles. I read fantasy almost exclusively for years. I wandered the fantasy section over and over, back and forth, for a half hour or more. At some point, it was my mom and siblings asking if I was done yet.
But I wasn’t done until the perfect book had jumped out at me. I waited for it to whisper to me, to tell me it was ready to go home with me, to say it had seen me looking at it enough times and I was now obligated to give it a chance. Actually, that’s how I started reading Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels Trilogy, and Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth novels.
Today, I have a Kindle and stumble upon books. There is a Barnes and Noble just a short drive away. But it’s not easy stopping by with two kids. Instead of looking at books, I chase down a toddler who wants to run around and touch everything and try to keep my infant from grabbing anything with paper and shoving it in her mouth.
I miss bookstores, but I don’t wish my children on them. Yet. One day they will be old enough to read and behave around books. One day I hope they enjoy reading at least a little. One day I will take them and we’ll find out who is the last to pick a book.I
Until then, please don’t disappear, beloved bookstore.
The Lily Cafe 
The rise of sites like Amazon have been such a revolutionary turn for convenience, but at the expense of specialty shops like bookstores. There’s nothing quite like getting lost in the shelves and finding that one special book that seems to jump out at you. Now I want to go hang out in a bookstore!
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I absolutely agree. Bookstores are magical places and I hope they stick around for years to come.
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Great post! Little ones definitely put a damper on visiting the book store. My two older kids love going now and it’s actually enjoyable with them. They’re into it. I used to love going to this book store in Atlanta called The Oxford. It was pre-Starbucks. Not a chain, but locally owned. I have since left Atlanta but one of my favorite memories as a child was going there with my Mom.
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That’s great that you have those bookstore memories! I can’t wait until my kids are old enough to appreciate them.
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They will. Give it some time Mama. 🙌🏼
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It’s great that you found a way to do what you love.! I have an infant and am pregnant, so I too will be mother of a toddler and an infant and will need as much encouragement as I can. Keep me coming !
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Thanks! It’s not always easy and some days I just have to say not today, but it keeps me from going nuts. Having an infant and toddler at the same time is always an adventure, but it’s also sweet because my two have really taken to each other. Good luck!
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Until reading your post, I almost forgot that I also loved to spend time at the bookstore. I’ve never felt negative feelings toward Amazon’s convenience until this very moment… thank you 😉
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Haha! Sorry! I actually like getting books from Amazon, but there’s just something special about bookstores.
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I miss the independent bookstores more than anything. Where we live now there aren’t a lot, but when I was growing up in New England we weren’t more than 30 minutes away from 3 separate stores. I also spent so much time sitting in the aisles reading – I want to pass that love on the the little one. My husband works in a library, so he comes home smelling like books occasionally which stirs up childhood nostalgia. Glad to read I’m not the only one who has a great affection for the places!
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Independent bookstores are amazing, but they are getting harder and harder to find. I hope bookstores of any kind stick around long enough for today’s children to know and appreciate them. But that’s so great that your family at least has a connection to a library.
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My toddler is just as bad at the bookstore. I will really relish it when she is capable of going without a super attentive someone to watch over her.
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Maybe bookstores should create a toddler friendly area. More parents might be willing to brave them then.
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