It finally happened, we went back to the bookstore on Saturday. Oh how we’ve missed our weekly visits but now that we are fully vaccinated we thought we’d celebrate by going to do some browsing (and shopping!). Our local B&N still requires face masks, which we were planning on wearing anyway, and the cafe only allows visitors to spend 30 minutes.
My first stop was the magazine section. Even before pre-COVID, I’d already noticed a lot of magazines folding but since then it’s really meant that many more have either shuttered or are scaling back to quarterly or fewer editions in a year. I didn’t see some of my favorites on the newsstand so not sure if that means they’re no longer being published or they just didn’t have them. Honestly I have no business getting more magazines as I have piles still to be read but I really enjoy them. I did find a Daphne’s Diary and had to have it.
Next I moved on to fiction and mystery sections and decided to pick up Mouthful of Birds by Samantha Schweblin an author I’ve heard a lot of great things about so looking forward to this book. It’s got a beautiful cover too. It was hard to limit myself to one book but in a way I think I was just overwhelmed being in a bookstore and the choices around me! haha..
After we browsed around we went to the cafe for some treats. It’s been more than a year since I’ve had a drink from a coffee shop and it tasted so good. We sat in the cafe area for about 30 minutes. I kept glancing over at the nonfiction books and have several titles I need to check out later.
We walked out with our purchases and while it wasn’t quite the same as when we used to spend long afternoons at the bookstore at least it was a start. There are also several indie bookstores in Austin and I look forward to start visiting them as well.
I hope you all had a great weekend and let me know if you’ve started venturing out to your local bookstore.
Yay! Still cautious, but more confident. It has been a long year and that makes previous pleasures even more enjoyable!
Yay for open bookstores! Glad you got to visit yours. I haven’t been to any of ours yet. Hopefully this summer.
I’m so glad you were able to spend some time in Barnes! I’m not surprised about the situation with the magazines. So many publishers are going to digital versions. Do you know that I haven’t been inside one since we moved (and I quit my job there)?! I think I would feel very overwhelmed, especially since I’m trying so hard NOT to buy any books, but focus on what I already own. I would enjoy looking at all the face-out displays of the new releases, fiction and mysteries, though. Sigh. Someday.
Jen Mullen – Yes, it has been a long year and so grateful to finally be vaccinated and start to live a little again! I don’t mind staying at home too much but certainly miss a lot of stuff.
Lark – I hope you get a chance to visit your bookstore soon. It’s not like I don’t have plenty of books at home to read but there’s just something about a bookstore right?
Les in OR – I noticed that even the Oprah magazine has just gone digital now. I mean, if Oprah had to go digital-only I can just imagine the more niche magazines. That is funny that you haven’t been to a B&N since then! I miss the displays too and even though a lot of them have books that everyone is talking about, it never fails you find something new right? I hope you get to visit a bookstore soon!
This was the first thing I did when I was completely vaccinated—I went to Barnes and Noble. I feel so grateful that the store made it through this awful time, and I bought a nice big stack of books to thank them.
Yay for bookstores visit! With the tightening measures over here since there’s been a spike of cases lately, we hardly step out of the house unless for necessary trips to the supermarkets. I hope there will be fewer cases in the next few weeks so life will be resumed without many restrictions.
I am glad you were able to visit bookstore! It really isn’t the same as it used to be. My daughter begged to go to Barnes and Noble again this past weekend and who are we to say no? It’s one of the few places we’ve gone shopping–much less allowed her to go shopping. It was our third visit since March. Masks and social distancing are still in place. She’s been using her own money to buy books even though I would happily pay for them for her if she wanted. I’m just so happy she’s interested in books! It’s been an uphill climb to reach this point.
I wish there was a “like” button here to press! Hurray for the bookstore visit, and I’m already drooling over the coffee and treats. Not yet had my vaccination yet, so not venturing out. But always great to enjoy bookstore visits by proxy 🙂
I’m not sure I would know what to do with a cup of coffee in somebody else’s cup anymore! Heheh
Sad about the magazine population…hopefully they’ve just suspended some of their distributors being unsure of how long things would be shuttered.
Maybe it just means you’ll have to subscribe to more. Hee hee
The Schweblin is on my short stack…next week or the following. I’ve heard many good things too!