Book Love

I love books. But I might love bookstores more. And there's a pretty basic reason for that. How many stores do you go into where there is an actual need for their entire inventory? There are no size disputes. No such thing as last season. You don't feel guilty about spending money there. And in a world of instant messaging, there is a sense of security in owning words that weren't written on a laptop from Starbucks this morning. Just by the nature of being bound, their content contains a level of truth and importance.

But what I may be drawn to more than just books and their warm homes are book "sections." You know these. The often yellow signs that say "Self-Help" or "Graphic Novels" (examples chosen at random.) They are meant to direct, much like the Walmart Greeter or the stick figure woman in a skirt. But they do more than that. They make you feel like you belong. Oh yeah, that is 'my section', you think. They can't put every individual name on a sign but in a way they kind of did.

I always get excited when its time to graduate to a new section. Fiction was what I sunk my overbite into (or was it under, either way its fixed.) In the last several years "Social Psychology" has been there for me, both personally and professionally. I recently was adopted by the "Pet/Dog" section of Powells (thanks to Viggo.) The irony was not lost on me that "Parenting" was just around the corner from "Pets." See, not only do the sections understand you, they also encourage you to be more.  And I appreciate the confidence that hundreds of books instill into the uncertainty of a new journey

Sadly, if the crowd around the SciFi section is to be judged, they should be encouraged to the "Dieting" section.