Ode to Bookstore

Walking down a neighborhood street, I passed an empty building that use to be a bookstore. I felt a meloncholy  overcome me and I longed to be standing in the stacks of a bookstore…a true bookstore, one that sold books. Now I realize that sounds funny but bookstores have been forced to become a place where you can buy toys, stuffed animals (that come with books as a kit) music CD, games oh, and yes…books. 

It is sad that all the talk of books becoming a thing of the past, and ebooks taking over has become a self fulfilling prophecy for large chain bookstores. It is change, and change is natural, what should not change is our belief in books, the creative written word. From that word other wonderful things happen, movies, plays, games. The spoken word, the written word have been around for centuries, how else would we know where we came from?

What we need is to maintain our belief that books are going to stay. As Simon Sinek said in his Ted talk, people follow ideas and dreams. If you believe in something, others that have that same belief will follow. A book, whether ink on paper, electronic, or audio is still a piece of creative expression. Support independent bookstores, mom and pops, libraries.