I visit the bookstore at least three times per month. I find it relaxing to see what is new and discover what I have not seen. Books were always important to my father. He eventually managed a large bookstore for a few years. I started working at Bookstar when I was twenty, which was purchased and finally converted to Barnes & Noble. Then I worked at Borders, the superior bookstore with a much better and more diverse selection. For the record, I am still quite disappointed that Borders didn’t make it. My time there was at the height of Infinite Jest, Anne Rice, and R. L. Stine.
I started collecting books as my father did. I didn’t read many of them and by my late twenties, I donated most of my books to the Seattle Library. I presumed they would add them to the shelves and I could visit at any time. Little did I know they would likely not make it to the shelves. Only in the last decade have I been more seriously reading and collecting physical books. Reading has been useful to me and though it started with e-books, moving to the physical book has been far more satisfying. I value my time in the bookstore. It is my church and reading is my religion.