From a blog post Im working on: When we were in Portland this weekend, we Powells, so I could pick up a couple of books that I need (yes, need.) Because I just finished Prisoner of Azkaban, I got Goblet of Fire, and I also picked up Broken Monsters, based on this review at NPR. We didnt have as much time as I wanted while we were in Powells (we never do), but I had a bit of a revelation while I was walking the aisles there. I love bookstores and libraries the way some people love the beach, or the mountains, or a museum. When Im in a bookstore or library, I feel like the rest of the world doesnt exist, that the only world that matters -- well, worlds that matter -- are contained within its walls, between the covers of the books that line the shelves. When Im in a place like Powells, that has tons of used books that go back decades, I can find and hold and look at and lose myself in the covers and stories that remind me of my youth, and pretty much any time in my life that I care to touch again. Stephen King says that writing is a form of time travel, and Ill take that a step further: a bookstore or library is a portal to anywhere in the multiverse; its Sigil made real. I told Twitter that, while its convenient to order books online, going to a bookstore and finding a book is an experience. I love that experience, and I dont want to live in a world without bookstores and libraries.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 04:33:26 +0000