A Real Bookstore

The other day I went into a Barnes & Noble store here in Eugene, Oregon. I was appalled that they now have at least a fourth of their bookstore dedicated to TOYS instead of books or other media, rows and rows of them. And though some of those toys have some level of educational or creative thinking quality (such as robot building kits or strategy games), the vast majority did not.  I no longer think of them as a true bookstore.

One of the aisles at Smith Family Bookstore

Instead, I prefer to go to my local bookstores.  Here in Eugene, for instance, we have Tsunami Books, where a local writer's group meets (the Wordos, where I was briefly a member many years ago), Black Sun Books, which is very small and tucked away in south Eugene, and my favorite, Smith Family Books, which has two levels of books, and two different locations, absolutely crammed with books from floor to ceiling (and stacked along the floor, even). Used books are just as important as new ones, as it should be. 

Upon walking through the door at Smith Family's main location, you are immediately met by stacks of antique books.  It is a place of wonder for me, where I can be happily lost for hours and simply cannot leave without taking some of my newfound book friends with me. That, for me, is what a book store should be about.  Not some washed out corporate nonsense like Barnes & Noble, which is just as interested in being a coffee shop, music store, and toy store as they are about selling books.

Cheers and happy reading!