Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Book Stores Are My Crack

My friend Jennifer discovered a new bookstore in her hometown. Its now on my list of places to go at some point this year, because, I always need more books. I mean it isn't as if I don't subscribe to 4 Harlequin lines, BOMC2 and visit Walmart, Target and Goodwill frequently!

I have books piling up EVERYWHERE!

I've bought Itso cubes at Target to house some of them and little plastic baskets at the Dollar Store.

It is a sickness.

But I love book stores, even when I'm not buying anything. I love to walk through the shelves, read the blurbs and write down potential future purchases on scraps of paper. I can spend hours in Barnes and Noble or Books-A-Million, just BROWSING! The only thing I might enjoy as much is going to a real music store, the kind that really don't exist much anymore. I think music is probably my next largest obsession, though at the state of the industry I haven't been buying much because there is so much lousy stuff out there. That, of course, means more money for books.

Libraries for some reason don't hold the same power over me. Maybe it is because budget cuts have really affected my local libraries so much that it is hardly worth stopping in. I do have found memories of checking out most of the Jean Plaidy books from Monessen Library, and the ones I didn't read there, I read from John K. Tener Library in Charleroi. I loved getting the calls that a book I was on a waiting list had come in. I can't remember the last time I was in the library. It has to be more than 3 years. It kind of makes me sad that that's the case, but then again it is hard to justify bringing books home when I have a houseful that I need to read.

Books-A-Million has to be my favorite book store now. I have to admit, I miss the smaller stores, but these huge places rock my world so much, especially with their sales and coupons and bargain areas.

I just wish there were more used book stores in my area. When I was younger there was one in an old barn in Ruffsdale that we went to on the weekends. Oh how I loved that place. There was even one in my hometown. Now, nothing. However my hair salon has a book swap shelf, that's very cool. I've found a lot of great reads there. Plus I could drop off a few books for their shelf, therefore spreading the book love all around the universe!

So what stores do you go to for your book fix?

5 comments:

Midnight Sapphire Books said...

I love bookstores!! Like you, I can spend hours browsing in the store. But we barely have here in Puerto Rico. The only place I can go and I'm sure I would find something is Borders is like the only big bookstore here. The other bookstores we have and the books are for college. Other place would be Walmart, but the last time I went, they didn't have anything that I would buy.


So I'm a Borders addict!

Irena @ This Miss Loves to Read said...

I love bookstores! I often visit my two favourite bookstores and just browse, even though I don't buy anything in the end. I just need to be surrounded by hundreds of new books.;) But I love libraries equally. I love the smell of old books, read so many times already, and that quiet, dusty tranquility and mysteriousness that libraries possess. So yes, both book stores and libraries are my great loves.:) Thanks for sharing! It's a great post.

Nikki - Notes of Life said...

I, of course, love bookstores too!

I visit the little one in the town my grandparents live in when I get a chance (so much so that the lady behind the till gave me a 10% discount card as I was going in on a regular basis when my granddad was ill).

The town I live near isn't brilliant when it comes to books (I have dreams of opening a bookstore there... if only I had the money), so I buy most of my books online or at the supermarket. However, when I'm off on my travels (whether it's a day trip, a weekend or more), I always search out the local bookstores.

Wolfe said...

i have a great used book store i use. Since i am not a re reader usually, i bring books back and get a credit. I can usually go in there spend 10.00 and get 5 books. another addicting site i will pass on it
abebooks.com
its an online used book store where usually shipping is FREE. most books i get off there are like $3.00. In fact, i have two on there way from there right now.
But when at walmart (we dont have a target unfourtantly), i always browse.

Anonymous said...

Sadly the only family owned bookstore I knew about in my area has closed - albeit they didn't sell used books like a favorite of mine in the town I grew up in. Generally I wind up at Borders to get my fix, however, and with all the coupons they keep sending me I'll probably continue down that path.

 
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