To me, bookstores are a place of respite, a sanctuary from the paradox of the go-go-go do nothing life that I seem to employ. Greatest of all of these, to the great disgust of hipsters (which, screw you, hipsters), is the bookstore known as Barnes and Nobles.
Everything about this place welcomes me home, to a store in which I really would live if not for the lack of a shower and the possibility of being arrested. The smell invades my nose the moment I step in, the scent of paper and ink, with a scent of cappuccino; it tells me that I've arrived at my sanctum.
Usually I reserve four to five hours on a Saturday or sleepy Sunday to just find a new book I want to read, grab a hot chocolate, and curl up in one of the overused recliners on the second floor. (And I ALWAYS buy this book. That's my policy.) It ends up being a wonderful way to spend my time. If not for my deep passion for movies and music, I would spend almost all of my time reading books; there really are few greater pleasures in life to me.
This week, Groupon was offering an unexpected treasure: 10 for $20 at B&N! I was overjoyed and quickly snatched this deal, assured with the offer of spending an exquisite Tuesday night at my beloved book seller's. With my blessed coupon printed off, I wandered into Barnes and Noble with the same subdued ecstasy as always.
As I meandered through the different sections, I looked through my standard sections: Music, Theatre, Biography, Christian Inspiration, Fiction, New Paperbacks, and Rick Riordan novels, but to no avail. I was perplexed. Typically, I walk through Barnes' and instantly find a number of books that intrigue me, wishing that I could buy them all, yet here I was with a Groupon, with no book to catch my fancy.
I wandered aimlessly through the store, through sections I had never dreamed of observing, such as acccounting, teen vampire fiction, and regional cookbooks. No luck. I doubled back to the Christian Inspiration section, hoping to find a new book by a favorite author of mine, and this is when I was hit with another surge of sobriety.
There are hundreds of books in this section, all with competing and, in some cases, vastly different subject matter and opinions. In relation to the faith, it's both fascinating and depressing to see such disparity and even greed on full display with copies of books decrying Atheists as fools next to a book by Donald Miller. Plus, some of these books are CRAZY. Like, Glenn Beck crazy. And people buy these because they think that there's legitimacy in so many of these 'The apocalypse is happening now' books, while so many people think I'm a heretic for loving my Shane Claiborne books. No wonder the Church is so jaded right now.
I picked up my copy of 'Drops Like Stars' by Rob Bell, a book I've been wanting to get for a while. I missed my chance to get a cheap version of Patti Lupone's memoirs (curses!) as well as Mark Twain's autobiography. Still, I'm somewhat devastated by my first bad trip to Barnes and Noble. I think that this calls for another trip to curl up with the memoirs of a certain Mrs. Lupone.
