The bookshop is my lunchtime retreat. It’s that place I go when I’m tired and forlorn and work is bringing me down.
I wander among the shelves, tracing my fingertips across the books that line the display tables; reading titles and blurbs and admiring eye catching cover art.
The bookshop is the place where the minutiae of the day can fall away. It’s the place where I feel at peace. All those stories, all those words surrounding me; I could spend hours undisturbed, just roaming.
I could pick up every other book, making mental lists of those I want to read. I circle the shop once, twice, three times, wavering between novels. Obviously I have to buy something, but how to choose?
The bookshop is the place where I discover random stories and unknown authors. I don’t choose the latest bestseller or that book I’ve been meaning to read for months. I pick something fresh, something that reaches out and grabs me.
I walk around the shop holding it in my hands like a talisman as I decide whether to choose something else too. I pick books that are beautiful, or that have poetic titles. I pick books that cry out to me in that moment.
The bookshop is the place that I can’t leave empty handed. It’s the place that centres me and reminds me what’s important.
I walk back to the office clutching my bag, the weight of new books satisfying in my hand. I walk away from the bookshop and I feel like myself again.
Jade @ Life's Open Pages says
Before becoming a stay at home mum, this was my lunchtime so I relate to this a lot, it also gives me a little nostalgia.
🙂
Gemma says
Wonderful
Bruna says
Amazing how you just described exactly how I feel about going to the bookshop. Just being there calms me and makes my day a little happier. Most of the time I can’t resist buying a book, but sometimes I go just to hang out and clear my head.
Great post.
Amy Lord says
Thanks Bruna! I could spend hours in a bookshop just trying to absorb everything – I love the possibility of so many stories all in one place.
Natalie @ Flowers in my Books says
I love bookstores! Whenever I go in their with my mum, other family members or my friends they get so annoyed with me because I can spend ages looking around and choosing which book/books I want to buy that day. It’s always harder when I know that I only have enough money for one book because I have to make sure that the book is one that I’m really happy with (although honestly if it’s a book I’m already happy).
I rarely go in bookstores with an idea in my mind of what I want to buy, but I don’t stick to only authors/books that I haven’t heard of. I have so many books on my TBR that I don’t own yet so I like to stick to that mental list but what book it is is rarely known to me before I leave with it.
Amy Lord says
I know what you mean about ‘if it’s a book I’m already happy’. It’s great to love a book, but even browsing through things I know I’ll probably never read makes me happy! I’ve even started buying books as souvenirs when I go on holiday!
Sara Strauss says
I just discovered that there’s a great library really close to my office and that makes me really, really happy!
~Sara
Amy Lord says
Yay!