Jack Baty's Blog: I went to a bookstore yesterday

Have you ever been to a bookstore? I have, and they are wonderful.#

I needed to run some errands yesterday and happened to drive by Schuler Books, an independent store based in Michigan and one I've been going to for decades.#

It's been a couple of years since I've been inside a bookstore and oh my goodness what a feeling. Am I the only one that feels a certain calming wonder upon entering any bookstore? Maybe not the giant chain stores so much, but the smaller, local(ish) stores that have been in the neighborhood forever. Mmmm.#

Shopping for books by walking around among the shelves is an immeasurably better experience than endlessly clicking on the computer. The only reviews to be had are a few hand-written notes in front of some books. One per book. No aggregated score. No algorithm. No ads.#

I bought the new Neal Stephenson book (which is honestly why I was there in the first place). But I also bought The Ten Thousand Doors of January and a book of poetry by Rilke. During checkout, they said that they loved the Rilke book and that it included the original German-language versions. They then inserted a bookmark in each book, and packed them all into a crisp paper bag and said, "Enjoy!".#

Bookstores are the best.#