Bookstores Are My Favorite!

Fiction-Writers-Blog-Hop-1Today I’m excited about Julie Valerie’s Fiction Writers Blog Hop. She chose the topic of bookstores. At first I wasn’t sure what to write about and then it came to me: my favorite things about bookstores.

I’m an author but first and foremost I’m a reader. I can’t remember a time I didn’t read. My interest torpedoed into obsessive levels once I hit sixth grade and started reading all of my mom’s Danielle Steel novels. My bus ride home was about forty minutes and I used to sit next to the window and read VC Andrews or Dean Koontz. I recall reading IT by Stephen King and discussing it with David who always tried to convince me fantasy was the best genre. (It’s not my favorite, but I do love to read it now. Thanks, David!)

As a kid I don’t recall going to bookstores often. I went to the library every single week and I went to the Scholastic Book Fair at school any chance I had. When I finally discovered stores filled with nothing but books the only option I had was a Half-Price Books. Even these days if I want to go to a physical bookstore my options are limited. Barnes and Noble is about thirty minutes from me but the musty, crowded bookstore that I can get lost in is over four hours away. Still, commercial or not, I love the bookstore. Here’s why:

  1. The coffee. I mean, if I can get coffee, I’m getting it. Not every bookstore offers a cafe of some sort, but if the one I’m in does, I’ll probably grab a cup.
  2. The big chairs. Sure, I can sit down in the cafe and enjoy a cup but if an oversized chair is offered up nestled within the bookstore I would rather sit there.
  3. The people-watching. The bookstore is filled with all types of people. My favorite thing is glancing at the books different people are buying.
  4. The smell of books. Is there anything better than the smell of printed page? No. I don’t think so.
  5. The bookmark spindle. You know the one … right as you’re checking out the rack is either spinning within the line or set on the cashier’s counter. I don’t usually buy them but I love to look.
  6. The books – duh. I mean an entire store with hundreds (or thousands) of books. I’ll admit to walking down the aisle and running my hand across the spines. I’m in my element. Bookstore, I am in you.

Tell me what your favorite thing about a bookstore is.

If you’re into books, my newest book Dating For Decades is now available in Kindle or paperback. This seasoned romance is a story of second chances and forgiveness.

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Thanks for reading! To return to the FICTION WRITERS BLOG HOP on Julie Valerie’s website, click here: http://www.julievalerie.com/fiction-writers-blog-hop-june-2016