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I Went Back to The Bookstore and You Should Too

Shani Robinson
Aug 5, 2016
2 min read

Growing up, my parents never said no to a bookstore trip.

"At least I can still look up a book and find it on my own in a bookstore" I mumbled to myself as I was able to quickly find Shonda Rhimes' Year of Yes. It was then I froze for a minute in Barnes and Noble and had to think very hard about the last time I bought a physical book that didn't serve a purpose for a college class and was ridiculously overpriced.

It was entirely too hard to remember. Sure, I had all my old favorites in my bedroom at home and despite a crazy schedule in my emerging young adult life I've bought many kindle editions and other e-pub versions that I can read on my IPad on the go, but while I was in a physical bookstore shopping with a friend, it was only then I had realized I missed the act of searching for a couple of new books and going to the cafe section and reading them. I missed exploring the travel section in anticipation of the international trips I dreamed about as a little girl. I missed being surrounded by dramatic teen novels and deciding which popular or obscure unknown series I was going to pick up next. I remember sometimes spending hours in a store deciding on books.

As I walked around the store with an iced macchiato while my best girlfriend looked for the last bit of the boy who lived that the world was going to get, I felt like I was 13 again. I felt like I could buy all these different types of books and fall into different worlds that stood for love, hope, courage, and strength. Literature was an inspiration for the way I wanted my life to change.

So now, I'm making it my mission to seek out some bookstores in different cities just to hold on to a little bit of that little girl that I used to be. She wasn't bad at all. I just want her to be able to meet the new young lady on the block who is attempting to make the time to dive into a good book on a scorching summer day and letting everything else fall by the wayside.

Here's to getting lost in the stacks and getting to be whoever you want to be.