A bookstore is more than four walls and many books. It’s the place we go, as a community, to find ourselves.
When you step through the doors, you feel different. Unlike going to the grocery store or the hardware store, there’s something here—a sense that you’re about to change for the better.
Maybe you feel more at home visiting your local bookstore than you do anywhere else.
Maybe visiting your local bookstore disconnects you from social media and the chaos of the world so you can breathe and find your focus.
Maybe you stop thinking about bills and that nagging pain in your back, because at your bookstore no one is forcing you to become something you’re not. You get to choose your own adventure as you meander through the aisles, your finger running down the spine of a potential read.
Maybe you’ll step into a fantasy and battle the darkness—and that metaphor will help you with your own darkness. Thank you, Carl Jung.
Maybe you’ll find a book that helps you launch your new business, plant your garden, or raise your teenager (good luck with that!).
Maybe you’ll dig into Plato and learn about The Republic, The Cave, and The Forms—one of my favorites.
A local bookstore is worth having now more than ever, because our communities are losing sight of what it means to be a community.
We’ve separated ourselves with Zoom meetings, artificial intelligence, and virtual jobs. We use these tools from our cubicles and our living rooms, sitting by ourselves, wondering why we feel sad and overworked.
I often feel sad and overworked.
That’s why, when I close my laptop and my wife asks, “What should we do tonight?” the idea of going to a local bookstore sounds so nice.
As I said, a bookstore is more than four walls with many books. It’s a reminder that we are more than busy little bees trying to pay the bills.
We are human, and we are hungry for something more. The question is this: what aisle in the bookstore will you find what you are looking for?
Until next time, read slowly – take notes – apply the ideas.
-Eddy
P.S. Did you know that I’m following my dream to open a local bookstore right here in Utah? If you’d like to follow my journey, here’s a link to the Kickstarter.
