I don’t think I’ve ever walked out of BookPeople without spending $100. It’s one of the reasons I had to reinvest in the wonderful library system. BookPeople is Austin’s independent book store. It’s downtown, next to the Whole Foods and REI, and a little bit of a wonderland for book lovers. There’s always signed editions, and irreverent feminist knick knacks, and customized staff recommendations lining all the shelves. Their card collection alone is magnificent, as proved by my mother who spent nearly as much on greeting cards as I did on books. It’s all I can do not to throw handfuls of money at them.
Can I dream for a moment? About a bookshop I could run in Door County where I’d read every book I selected, and run book clubs for the community, and have a little wine bar to pair books with local reds and whites, and bring in Wisconsin authors, and spend my days surrounded by books and wine?
It’s a good dream. One of thousands of futures I lay out for myself, testing their strength with my toes as I stay firmly planted in my present. The future where I become an expert in human resources. The future where I move to Paris. The future where I am an author. The future where I run a bookstore/wine shop. The futures I don’t know about, endless.
In all of these futures, I hope I am surrounded by books. That feeling of peace that comes over me walking into BookPeople (or the library) is like walking into the arms of an old friend. I feel understood amongst the thousands of stories. My bed right now is half covered in library and bookstore books. With a cat sleeping among them (on top of my Spider-Man bedspread), it’s the image of my aesthetic.
When I buy books, I always buy from independent bookstores. After studying book publishing in college, purchasing books off Amazon is pretty much blacklisted. Indie bookstores thrive because of community support, and in turn they support the community: local bookstores are invaluable cultural centers.
So while I’m making my library the substance of my reading diet, BookPeople will always be the quarterly dessert.
With Love,
Natalie