Over the last few years I have engaged a bit more with Southern writers. Those from the South who write about other things, and then Southern writers who write about the South.
Lately I have taken in Pat Conroy and Greg Iles. They write honestly, but I have really loved the lyrical way they write. There is a beauty to the text while they talk about horrible things. It is simultaneously awful and beautiful.
For all the literary beauty of the South, bookstores are a different story. In Mobile, AL, they are opening a Barnes and Noble this week. That will make, by my count, three somewhat viable bookstores in Mobile. Three. The other two are Books a Million, a small competitor of Barnes and Noble, and The Haunted Bookstore, a small independent bookstore that is a marvelous presence in downtown Mobile.
Three. Two of which are chains.
So when I read a news post on Facebook about the opening of the Barnes and Noble, it was humorous to find a few people commenting to the effect, “Why do we need another bookstore?”
I have missed the bookstore culture. I have also missed the video store culture. It’s the ability to browse. It is the thought of coming in with one item in mind and walking out with other items that became good ideas or curiosities. Or, it is the idea of simply coming in and browsing, or meeting friends and sitting for a bit.
Yes, I can order books online. It is my default position all too often.
But this week, I can rejoice in another physical store actually opening… and yet another opportunity for me to browsed and find new gems.
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