Ten thoughts from one writer & book lover as I visited my Barnes & Noble bookstore this weekend:
#1: I noticed something new. A huge space (several rows) devoted to selling toys for children of all ages.
#2. I almost bought a toy for full price since I had our twins in their stroller and one of them was getting fussy.
#3. Almost bought Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion because of the premise and the reviews I’ve heard. Almost but didn’t. Why? Because I thought I might enjoy it more on my Kindle. (Not lying either)
#4. Noticed that Cormac McCarthy’s books had been repackaged. I have four of his books I still have to read (not his most famous–those I’ve loved). For some reason, I can’t see reading him on Kindle. Why?
#5. People either really LOVE it or HATE IT when you have a double stroller with twins. At least ours isn’t a double wide. It’s still narrow like other strollers.
#6. I typically don’t even bother checking to see if a store has my books, but the Geneva B&N bookstore is my home base, so they always have a bunch. But they moved the Religious/Inspirational Fiction row somewhere because of the toys, so I never got a chance to see how many they had.
#7. Barnes & Noble sells a lot of gift items for writers and books lovers, like journals and cards and pens and such. I guess I never noticed how much of that stuff they carried.
#8. Cheerios always help a fussy baby.
#9. I eventually left without purchasing anything. Once I got moving on the sidewalk on the humid Sunday, both babies went to sleep.
#10. On our way home from the store, I saw someone on the side of the road waving a 40% off sale sign. For what store? Borders.
Times are a changin’, not just for this guy who used to go into the bookstore by himself and always leave with a pile of stuff, but also for those bookstores as well.
Some things don't change, though. Like feeding Cheerios to a fussy baby. Both of our sons (now 31 and 23) inhaled Cheerios.
Great post. Kids have changed my bookstore habits, too. Although, now that they're getting older my old habits are starting to resurface a bit.
Yes, Cheerios are awesome. When they get tired of those, Kix are great. And, if you aren't opposed to a little sugar, Fruit Loops are best of all. (I have no idea how old your twins are, so they might yet be too young for FL, but eventually they could come in handy!)
I'm sad about Borders. I was always more comfortable there, and they're closer to my house.
I didn't realize you're in Geneva. My family is from the area. I lived in Winfield while in high school, and worked in St. Charles after college. Small world! 🙂
Again, great post. I smiled roughly 10 times. No, make that 9 times. #10 didn't make me smile.
It will be a sad day for me if they ever totally get rid of or make it hard to get or too expensive to get an actual book.
I LOVE BOOKS!!!!! Everything about them.
I read Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion and thought it was okay. It just didn't in any way compare to Autumn by David Moody, in my opinion. Wow. Now that was a very interesting story filled with survival skills and lots of imagination. In many ways it reminded me of Walking Dead, the TV series.
I'm now taking my granddaughters to the library for story time in hopes they'll one day enjoy reading as much as I do. Most of my 5 sons do.
Keeping on writing…