Oh man, I’m in Chapters. The high ceiling, the grind of Starbucks coffee beans, the clog of the popular parking lot outside. And best of all: books. Row upon row of books. Entertainment and information and hope and inspiration captured within thousands—millions?—of pages, spines ready to be carefully cracked.

But why the excitement? Because of the novelty.

My town’s entire shopping district (read: one street with a couple of tiny offshoots) could fit several times into the mall I’m in now. It has a tiny fraction of the stores. It doesn’t have a gleaming bookstore.

It took me 3 ½ hours to drive here, the closest Chapters to home. It doesn’t happen very often.

Now comes the tricky/fun part: selecting. Even though I have a pile of unread books at home. Even though I could order online from Chapters or visit my library when my reading choices (if ever) run low.

I’m here. The books are at my fingertips. There’s so much. Flesh, meet paper. Paper, meet flesh.

Let’s shop.

Tell me about your bookstore bliss

Read previous posts.