When I was in second grade, my older sister got her first cell phone. She received a beautiful, new light blue LG Chocolate phone with one of those slide up screens and a keyboard (there is absolutely nothing more "2008" than that). Naturally, I was very jealous, because apparently, I thought I was a responsible and mature 8-year-old that also deserved to have a cell phone. To cheer me up, my mom took me to the bookstore that was just down the street and around the corner from my childhood home. She told me that I could pick out any two books that I wanted, and I instantly forgot about wanting a cell phone. Everything was better now that I was standing amid the magic and beauty of the bookstore.
However, that was years ago and I haven't given much thought to bookstores since then — that is, until recently.
A few weeks ago, I figured that I needed to get out of Manhattan for a little while, and ended up going home to spend a Saturday afternoon with my mom. We spent the day indulging in the pleasures of emptying our wallets while filling up shopping bags and decided to end our day by heading to the nearest Barnes & Noble. After entering, I thought for a second and then realized that the last time I was in a bookstore was only to use it as the nearest entrance into the mall.
I couldn't remember the last time I actually took time to shop the shelves and peruse through the pages of such a store.
The only reason my mom and I even went into that Barnes & Noble was to buy books to donate to my sorority. But, the second I stepped foot in that store, I was instantly reminded of why I used to love going there so much as a kid. There's a special kind of environment with bookstores; the endless possibilities of adventure, magic, learning, exploration, and escapism that you see before you are incredible. My mom and I, both kids at heart, immediately went to the children's section to pick up some of our old favorites to donate. With cardboard cutouts of characters, trees that reached the ceilings, and areas where kids could act out their wildest imaginations, my mind was flooded with the memories of my childhood.
Unfortunately, this might not be an experience that will last much longer.
With the convenience of online shopping, bookstores are going out of business. The bookstore by my house that I grew up going to is now closed. That breaks my heart because the memories I made there as a child allowed me to become who I am today. My creativity, imagination, sense of adventure, and desire to learn were constructed from my childhood experiences at the bookstore. There's something about bookstores that just makes you want to explore endless possibilities, or maybe pick up a book you've never read and see what you can learn from it. My point here is that there's more to bookstores than just buying books, and if they continue to close, we lose a big part of what makes reading special.
Yes, buying books on websites such as Amazon might be more convenient, but you're losing that atmosphere of exploration and excitement you feel at bookstores.
Online, it seems to be a one-directional process: you search the book, put it in your cart, and then check out. And at a physical bookstore, you're getting a bidirectional relationship and connection. You encounter experiences that you can only happen if you're in a real store. You're able to see every book laid out right in front of you, you can pick up books to see how they feel in your hands, and you can flip through the various pages. As someone who credits bookstores as an important environment in my childhood, I ask you this: please, next time you want a book, head to your local bookstore!
When I have children, I want them to grow up exploring their imagination and interests at bookstores, just like I did. But now, I fear that they will never get the chance. So this weekend, try to go to a bookstore and enjoy yourself. If you don't, you'll never know what you're missing out on.
