Read. Write. Love.: Where have all the bookstores gone?? (My bookstore adventure)

Where Have All the Bookstores Gone?

I'm sure that if you love to read, you've probably noticed the shrinking number of bookstores. It's like they're becoming an endangered species. I was devastated when Border's went out of business, and one of the Books-A-Million stores in my area also closed and was turned into an Old Navy. Old Navy? Really? Really??

Today when I was out I found a Books-A-Million, and I was so excited when I saw it (and saw that it wasn't closed). Of course, I couldn't resist going in.

Oh, the smell! I'd forgotten how wonderful that bookstore smell is, that mixture of ink and paper. I hadn't realized how much I had missed bookstore visits. I felt like a little kid in a candy store and I spent nearly an hour browsing the YA section.

There were so many lovely, lovely books in one place! And so many that I wanted to buy, but I had to restrain myself because they were hardcovers and expensive.

But I think this partly is why bookstores are going out of business--people go there to browse, not to buy. I buy my books off of Amazon.com because I know I can get them cheaper there, and as a college student I need to save as much money as I can. In fact, I rarely even buy books anymore unless it's a sequel to a book I loved, or a book by an author I'm crazy about. Now I get nearly all of my books from the library, and if I fall in love with one I buy it later.

My Bookstore Finds

But I do love bookstores. I love looking at all the beautiful covers, reading all the titles, being able to pick up a book that interests me and skim through it. Browsing through bookstores allows me to make new discoveries, and I did find a few books on my outing today that I hadn't heard of before but will be adding to my to-read list:

Blood Ninja by Nick Lake

Ninjas and vampires? Yes, please!

Daughter of the Centaurs by Kate Klimo

I love horses and horse mythology. This sounded interesting!

The Game of Triumphs by Laura Powell

Doesn't have the best rating on goodreads, but it sounds so interesting!

And of course, I couldn't resist leaving the store without a book ^.^ I decided to buy a softcover, which was less expensive. I decided on:

Sold by Patricia McCormick

I usually don't stray out of the fantasy genre too often but this is supposed to be a good one, and I feel very strongly about the issue of human trafficking. Can't wait to read it!