The
door was open and the books inside were calling to me. Before I went in, I read the posted notes
hanging beside it. They requested that all customers keep a six foot distance
from one another and that all customers wear a mask while in the store. I could
handle that!
Inside
it pretty much looked the same as the last time I had been there. There were a
few carts scattered around with signs asking the patrons to put the books they
weren’t going to buy on them. They would disinfect them before returning them
to the shelves. I felt a bit self conscious. Was I able to turn a book over to
read the back or to pick it up to check on the price and if I did, was I
suppose to put it on the cart? I ended up basically walking around with my
hands in my pockets. The two or three books I touched I put right back down
since I only flipped them over. I hope I didn’t overstep any of the new book
protocol. I walked around and looked at the titles, soaking it all in. Then I
left to go to the doctor’s appointment.
After
my doctor visit, I stopped at Half Price Books and took a quick look around
that store. They also asked that their customers wear a mask and avoid getting
too close to each other. Sterilized baskets were standing by the door for our
use. A woman came over and asked me to try to limit only one person in any area
at the same time. I asked if they had the newest Stephen King book, “If It Bleeds” and she guided me over to
a shelf and handed me one of the books. “We just put these out.” She said. I
took it and then walked around a bit, stopping to check out the collectable
shelves.
It was such a nice
feeling reading the various bindings stacked side by side. They had a lot of
leather bound books; you know the type, gold lettering, raised bands on the
spine, gold edges on the pages and usually a green or red satin ribbon. I believe they were all Easton Press
collections. Their prices were over my spending level. I like having books in
good shape that I can read without any fear of marring the fine craftsmanship
or creasing a page. (Heaven forbid!) I like to pull a favorite book off the
shelf and re-read it every so often. The books on these shelves are not for
that, they are for display. Seeing nothing that excited me, I went up to the
cashier, (standing behind a sheet of Plexiglas) and bought my book.
It
was such a good feeling to bring a new book home. I have been reading books
that were stacked on my “to read” pile and books downloaded for free on my
Kindle but now I had a book I wanted to read, one I have been looking forward
to reading! When I got home, I took the cover off of it, (to protect it from
damage) and opened up to the first page, (ohh, nice crisp pages, sharp edges
and the smell of a NEW book!)…and got lost in another reality. Oh what a great
feeling! Excuse me now, I can’t be
writing this, I have a book I that needs read!
You
can’t imagine how much I have been looking forward to going back to bookstores.
After we left, we drove up to a nursery to get some shrubs for AMB’s house. As
we were driving through the countryside and the fresh air it felt as if
everything in the world was right. Well…..it felt like it even though we knew
better. Getting back into the bookstores is one good thing and I’ll take ANY good thing I can get!
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