For the love of bookstores

I had my big trip into town today. Portland. First time all by myself. I needed to go to Powell's THE BEST BOOKSTORE IN THE WHOLE WIDE UNIVERSE.

Powell's has so many wonderful things that make it the best in the universe. However, putting their books on hold section on the fourth floor is not one of them. I dread climbing all those stairs. In fact I dread it so much, I waited until the very last day to retrieve my books on hold. Tomorrow would be the day I would actually have to pay for shipping, so being cheap, I decided today was the day.

Delightful weather made the driving trip, well, delightful. Sunday there are few cars and even fewer trucks. The lack of traffic made for a very speedy trip. One slow down for Krispy Kreme, yummy, and even better a clean restroom, I was back on the road.

All by myself at Powell's, what is a girl to do? Spend blissful hour upon hour just drifting around looking at books. Maybe I want to learn how to raise cattle, saw a book. Maybe I want to learn to applique, saw a book. Maybe I want to know all about book thieves, saw a book, bought the book. Three stories of every type of book imaginable. Really just a slice of heaven right here on earth.

Then I climbed the fouuuuuuuuuuuuuuur flights up to the hold section. Just imagine I wasn't in shape. I would be on the news right now being shown in a very unflattering light. It was worth it in the end. New books. Well, used books, but new to me, so that counts as new.

I lose all sense of reality in a bookstore. To me, it will be the greatest place ever. The opportunity to be anywhere. To learn anything. To recapture the books I loved as a child. To discover new books that I love as an adult. The smell of pages, of adventures, of wonder, of joy, and of sadness. All can be found on the shelves of a bookstore. Some authors heart and soul sitting right there waiting to be discovered. To be enjoyed, or even to be disliked. Still you will never be the same after the last page is turned. It will be within you from now on.

It is a true beauty that bookstores exist. One I don't take for granted. On the plane to Chicago, two passengers had the new electronic book reader and for a moment I envied them. So many books could fit on there. Just imagine how many books I could be carrying around in my purse AT THAT VERY MOMENT.

Today it dawned on me, I don't want that. I need the pages. I need the texture, the turning of the page, the placing of the bookmark, the book waiting on the table for me to return. I need the ritual, the actual being in the book.

I think that if the author took the time to write it down. We should take the time to turn the actual page, to hold the actual book.

Hopefully, this week you will visit your local bookstore and pick up something that will change your life.