Bookstores are my weakness. I hate everything about the town where my daughter chose to go for college except for the 1 bookstore I found that I visit every time we are there.
Personal Opinion: If you go into an independent bookstore and don't leave with at least 2 books, you are a menace to civilized society. I will die on that hill.
I have such a love/hate relationship with book stores now. I love them because I love to read yet I hate them because I don't have the time to read.
I do audio books now because I can listen to them while I mow the lawn, clean the house, fold laundry or work on my cars. The only downside is I feel I don't retain them as well as books I physically read.
I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one with a couple of dozen books on my Kindle to read let alone the half dozen or so physical books in my reading queue.
Love my Kindle! Can take it and read anywhere. Plus if I’m standing in line, I can whip out my phone Kindle app to read a page or two of my current book 📚.
Like you, I rarely have time to physically read books,
So I listen to CD audiobooks as I drive back and forth to work and run errands in my car.
For me, there’s something special when it’s a really good narrator whether it’s fact or fiction.
World war Z by Max Brooks (And nothing like the movie with Brad Pitt, Which I actually like) Has a huge cast of characters and so the audiobook uses different actors for each.
Completely agree, Chris. Thanks for writing such a nice piece in support of independent book stores. You really captured their uniqueness. Long may they live! "Serendipity is something that giant booksellers can never replicate. And it’s one of the truly great feelings in the world."
Do you use libraries? I’m a librarian, and I love visiting different libraries. You can learn so much about a town or a neighborhood by looking at the displays and special sections. For example, the branch I work at is in a neighborhood where a lot of visiting professors at the University of Texas at Austin live. They’re from all over the world. We have a huge world languages section while other branches have primarily just Spanish. Another branch I worked at has mostly young families in the neighborhood. We always had captivating displays of kids’ books. We very often create a QR code that we include in a display or flyer. It gives patrons a list of similar books or a Spotify list of songs related to the books on display. Sometimes small town libraries have fascinating history exhibits.
I don’t buy many books anymore. Working at the library, I have access to a world of books without spending money (which is good on a librarian’s salary). What are some of the libraries in the DMV that I should stop by when I come to visit your and Mr. Tony’s neck of the woods.
I also feel that way about libraries, and remember visiting the library in the very small town I grew up in from the age of 6 or so with my dad. During my 1st year of college, there was a library in wonderful old Victorian house a block from where I lived that had nooks and crannies you could sit down in and read a book off the shelf. I used to go there to read, and didn't even bother to get a library card. It was the 1st time I read Pride and Prejudict - I'd sit in a window seat and continue from where I left off the last time I was there...
The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto, Canada, is an absolutely stunning place: a veritable cathedral to books. Open to the public, even though it's on the University of Toronto's downtown campus, and admission is free!
The village I grew up has been lucky enough to have an independent bookstore (the Village Bookstore) ever since I lived there.
It's gone through several different owners and several different locations and at times it's been near death, but the community seems determined to ensure it remains open.
The Clintons live one town over, and Bill especially has been known to pop in and browse the aisles.
Malaprops' in Asheville, NC is my favorite. It's a great old space with books in every nook and cranny. I especially appreciate how easy it is to find something new and different there, a book or author that I probably wouldn't otherwise find. Everyone who works at Malaprop's loves and reads books -- and they each have favorites in a "recommendations" space. There's even a display of books wrapped in butcher paper with descriptive phrases on the covers. What a great way to find a new read!
I love a good bookstore, but my favorite place is the library. Our local library not has books and magazines and newspapers but lots of activities for all ages.
We aren’t big shoppers and I try not to bog down our life in tons of “things.” However, the one rule I always had when my son was growing up (he’s now 25) is that I never said no to books. Ever. Book fair. Cute bookstore we found in our travels. Barnes and Noble. Didn’t matter. He always knew he could get books. He loved books and reading, and I like to think that was partly due to our rule. In an age of technology overwhelming us, it was the one thing I felt I got right as a parent. He doesn’t read quite as much now. But he still loves books and bookstores. And I am confident his academic success was tied directly to all that reading.
A childhood friend and next door neighbor from New Carrollton lives now just outside of St. Micheals on his wife's family's 12-acre farm where he has bee hives, his wife has a huge vegetable garden. He fishes, crabs and they are somewhat self-sustainable. A small piece of heaven...
Bookstores are my weakness. I hate everything about the town where my daughter chose to go for college except for the 1 bookstore I found that I visit every time we are there.
Personal Opinion: If you go into an independent bookstore and don't leave with at least 2 books, you are a menace to civilized society. I will die on that hill.
I love those bookstores. But, can you find me more time to read?
I have such a love/hate relationship with book stores now. I love them because I love to read yet I hate them because I don't have the time to read.
I do audio books now because I can listen to them while I mow the lawn, clean the house, fold laundry or work on my cars. The only downside is I feel I don't retain them as well as books I physically read.
I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one with a couple of dozen books on my Kindle to read let alone the half dozen or so physical books in my reading queue.
Love my Kindle! Can take it and read anywhere. Plus if I’m standing in line, I can whip out my phone Kindle app to read a page or two of my current book 📚.
Like you, I rarely have time to physically read books,
So I listen to CD audiobooks as I drive back and forth to work and run errands in my car.
For me, there’s something special when it’s a really good narrator whether it’s fact or fiction.
World war Z by Max Brooks (And nothing like the movie with Brad Pitt, Which I actually like) Has a huge cast of characters and so the audiobook uses different actors for each.
It’s just wonderful!!
Completely agree, Chris. Thanks for writing such a nice piece in support of independent book stores. You really captured their uniqueness. Long may they live! "Serendipity is something that giant booksellers can never replicate. And it’s one of the truly great feelings in the world."
Do you use libraries? I’m a librarian, and I love visiting different libraries. You can learn so much about a town or a neighborhood by looking at the displays and special sections. For example, the branch I work at is in a neighborhood where a lot of visiting professors at the University of Texas at Austin live. They’re from all over the world. We have a huge world languages section while other branches have primarily just Spanish. Another branch I worked at has mostly young families in the neighborhood. We always had captivating displays of kids’ books. We very often create a QR code that we include in a display or flyer. It gives patrons a list of similar books or a Spotify list of songs related to the books on display. Sometimes small town libraries have fascinating history exhibits.
I don’t buy many books anymore. Working at the library, I have access to a world of books without spending money (which is good on a librarian’s salary). What are some of the libraries in the DMV that I should stop by when I come to visit your and Mr. Tony’s neck of the woods.
I also feel that way about libraries, and remember visiting the library in the very small town I grew up in from the age of 6 or so with my dad. During my 1st year of college, there was a library in wonderful old Victorian house a block from where I lived that had nooks and crannies you could sit down in and read a book off the shelf. I used to go there to read, and didn't even bother to get a library card. It was the 1st time I read Pride and Prejudict - I'd sit in a window seat and continue from where I left off the last time I was there...
The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto, Canada, is an absolutely stunning place: a veritable cathedral to books. Open to the public, even though it's on the University of Toronto's downtown campus, and admission is free!
https://fisher.library.utoronto.ca/
Plus points for amazing Brutalism.
The village I grew up has been lucky enough to have an independent bookstore (the Village Bookstore) ever since I lived there.
It's gone through several different owners and several different locations and at times it's been near death, but the community seems determined to ensure it remains open.
The Clintons live one town over, and Bill especially has been known to pop in and browse the aisles.
Hooray for independent book stores! Reminds me of You’ve Got Mail. 😞 We must support these treasures!
Malaprops' in Asheville, NC is my favorite. It's a great old space with books in every nook and cranny. I especially appreciate how easy it is to find something new and different there, a book or author that I probably wouldn't otherwise find. Everyone who works at Malaprop's loves and reads books -- and they each have favorites in a "recommendations" space. There's even a display of books wrapped in butcher paper with descriptive phrases on the covers. What a great way to find a new read!
Also: only 20 books in your Kindle queue? Amateur.
I've never been, but I hear John Scalzi's bookstore in Ohio is wonderful.
If you ever get up to Ontario, Canada, try to hit the Bookshelf in Guelph. It had a café before any of the big chains, and regularly wins awards here.
I’m a huge Scalzi fan!!
How did I not know he had a bookstore back in Ohio?
Presumably, close to where he lives.
Bravo,
You are also being a great model for your kids
I spend a lot of time at the library I love to see parents with young kids there
I love a good bookstore, but my favorite place is the library. Our local library not has books and magazines and newspapers but lots of activities for all ages.
This is how I feel about independent record stores.
We used go to St. Michaels yearly to visit friends. I’ve been to that bookstore; it is lovely.
I read exclusively on my iPad. I like the larger font, but when I read books, I loved browsing at a local bookstore or local library.
I’m attracted to longer books, so I would seek the “thick books” out.
Can’t do that on Libby or Amazon.
We aren’t big shoppers and I try not to bog down our life in tons of “things.” However, the one rule I always had when my son was growing up (he’s now 25) is that I never said no to books. Ever. Book fair. Cute bookstore we found in our travels. Barnes and Noble. Didn’t matter. He always knew he could get books. He loved books and reading, and I like to think that was partly due to our rule. In an age of technology overwhelming us, it was the one thing I felt I got right as a parent. He doesn’t read quite as much now. But he still loves books and bookstores. And I am confident his academic success was tied directly to all that reading.
A childhood friend and next door neighbor from New Carrollton lives now just outside of St. Micheals on his wife's family's 12-acre farm where he has bee hives, his wife has a huge vegetable garden. He fishes, crabs and they are somewhat self-sustainable. A small piece of heaven...