Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly linkup of book bloggers hosted by The Broke and The Bookish! The honest truth is that I do a lot of my book buying either on Amazon (because price) or thrift/secondhand stores (also because price). I read/buy a lot of books, I would never be able to afford it paying full retail value. But I do stop at my local independent bookstore as often as I can reasonably do so (3-4 times per year), and here’s what I love about it!
Supporting a local business: I don’t know about you, but I like knowing that when I go in and buy books, I’m helping support people in my community having book jobs. This is one of the biggest reasons I feel bad about shopping on Amazon, so if someone could go ahead and plant a money tree in my backyard, that would be great.
The smell: There’s an amazing smell of pages and ink when you walk in the door to a bookstore that’s intoxicating enough that I blame it for my inability to control myself and only buy one book. Giles was right, knowledge should be smelly.
Actual humans to that like books to talk to: Obviously all my internet friends are human, too, but it’s really nice to get to chat about book things face-to-face. Asking employees for recs based on the books you already enjoyed can yield some really great quality discoveries!
The unexpected: Even when I go in with an idea of what I want to pick up, I always like to take the time to browse at the tables and see the employee recs…you never know what’s going to be there to catch your eye!
Bookish goodies: I haven’t been in a bookstore yet that only sells books…there are cards, bookmarks, journals, mugs, and other book-type swag. Lots of things to discover!
Finding the perfect thing for someone else: This is part of why browsing is key…something can catch your eye that someone you love clearly needs and even if birthdays/Christmas are a while away yet, you can just buy it and stash it in the back of the closet and done.
Readings/signings: I’m super bummed I’m going to miss Stephen King at the Reno Barnes & Noble coming up here in a few weeks…because it’s on my wedding day! Getting married will be better, I expect, but getting to meet the people who wrote words that you love is the bestest.
People watching: Sometimes I like to find something I’m interested in and kind of leaf through it while I make up little stories in my head about the people around me and who they are to each other. I tend to assume the best about them because if they’re in a bookstore they have to be good people, right?
Coffee and snacks: Not every bookstore sells coffee, obviously, but when they do it just encourages you to linger, and something about the smell of the coffee and the books together is just about the most magical smell in the world.
Walking out with books: Obviously, this is the best part!