Love and Hate at the bookstore

Having just returned from a visit to the bookstore - an all too rare occurrence in these days of Kindles and Nooks - I was struck fresh the things I love and hate about the place.

LOVE the books! So many about so much, thousands of volumes, good and bad, filled with a universe of possibility and exploration. And just the sheer joy of their presence - the smell, the feel, the color, the weight.

HATE that a lifetime spent doing nothing but reading would only scratch the surface. I feel so overwhelmed and small when faced with all that I do not and will never know.

But then I turn around and LOVE that very same thing!

HATE how expensive books have become. A standard paperback, of a mediocre edition, going for 10 bucks. And forget a well-bound hardback. No wonder people don't read anymore.

LOVE wandering from aisle to aisle, being drawn at random to a title or an author or a subject.

HATE how hard it is to know if something is the next great read or a steaming pile of you-know-what. Without advice or recommendation it is daunting in the extreme to pick and buy, especially at the prices hated above.

LOVE that people are still crowding in, sitting in the aisles, sharing, talking and taking joy and comfort in the company of books.

But today I was treated to that most rare of bookstore treats. A woman in front of me in line for customer service was looking for a book. She didn't know the title or author, and the clerk helping her was having trouble tracking it down. I realized I might know what book she was after and offered the suggestion. The clerk then sought it out and it turned out to be, in fact, the book the woman wanted. I had the great satisfaction and joy of helping someone to a book I had read and loved. Watching her carry the book away, anticipating the read, I was able to share in that anticipation and take joy in knowing what a wonderful read she had ahead of her. 

The book? "Empire of the Summer Moon" by S.C. Gwynne about Quonah Parker and the incredible Comanche nation.

"A room without books is like a body without a soul" - Cicero