I’m on a diet. Yeah, I know I’m supposed to call it a “lifestyle” for long-term success. But no, this is a diet. Short-term and urgent. Grueling even. Low calorie, no processed foods etc.,… The other day I knew that if I stayed in the house, I would eat and I might not stop. I found out that if I leave the house and it’s not to go get some food, my choices as to what to do are narrowed precipitously. Since eating raw and clean, I’ve noticed something about my spending habits. My mind is clearer and I see now that I’ve been a big consumer, figuratively and literally. With so much food off the table, I’m focused on buying knowledge and experience.
Naturally, I sought refuge in a bookstore. Among books I feel calm. There’s so much to browse that the experience is different each time. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, it’s a treasure hunt. I was distracted from my hunger pangs and felt my shoulders loosen as I disappeared among the shelves. I breathed deeper and took my time. I contemplated all the books there are to read and all the books I have to write.
And I was inspired. Despite all the bad news about the publishing industry (often detailed on this very blog by your trusty reporter) there are still so many ideas to explore in fiction and non-fiction. As I perused the how-tos, I thought about what I could write to help people. As I ran my hand along the spines of paperbacks, I thought, “Soon.”
I admit bookstores and libraries make me happy in a way that browsing online does not. Shopping for books is a deeper experience when you hold the weight of it in your hand and flip through at random trying to get a sense if this is the book that will grant you a kind of glorious insomnia. I do hope bookstores will be around for a long time. The independents will have to be very creative and very knowledgeable to stay alive in the ebook environment. I do believe there will always be paper books, but they will be a more expensive specialty item in the future. Some people say that won’t happen. Their (fallacious) argument often seems to be that it won’t happen because it hasn’t happened yet. It’s early days. Ebooks will get the bugs worked out. Then our consumer society’s spending habits will change again. We’ll get even less sunlight than we do now.
Bt for now, I have a safe place to run to as long as I stay away from Starbucks (conveniently located in the bookstore.) Otherwise, I’ll have to run to the gym looking for a place to hide from hunger pangs.
I so love books in all their forms. Also, I could be high on book glue.
Filed under: Books, ebooks, publishing, Bookselling, E-book, publishing, Shopping
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