Torn Between Two Loves

It was a rather bookish Christmas and birthday here at Living Life.  I both gave and received a number of books and gift cards to purchase books.  My family and friends were very sweet and generous, so to say the books were my favorite gifts would be like choosing a favorite child.  Seriously,  I love and appreciate everything gifted to me.

Now back to the books. 

One book I received from Santa (well, sort of...another story) was My Bookstore, a compilation of essays by various authors bragging on their favorite bookstores.  Several of my favorites are represented, making this book even more enjoyable.  

Once the last box of Christmas decorations was packed, carried upstairs and stored away for another year, the last of the evergreen needles swept out,  I had the luxury of time.  Time to brew a cup of tea and sit down to visit some of my favorite bookstores.

When beginning a book I often skim the Introduction with plans on returning upon reading the last word on the last page.  It is my way to extend the pleasure of a good book.  It is also how I evaluate what I gained from my reading against the point the author might have been wanting to express.

The editors of My Bookstore selected Richard Russo to write its introduction.   To skim anything written by Russo is to miss out on his amazing talent.  His intro tells us about his own love of the bookseller while giving a slight warning that the independent bookstore might be an endangered species.  We also are given the hint that this is not just a collection of stories, but of love letters written to those who allow us to browse, sit, and read.  It is to those who greet us with a smile  and help us find our next favorite book.

Three of my most favorite bookstores are listed in this book; I began with their essays.  They did not disappoint.

My very favorite bookstore?

Lemuria is in Jackson, Mississippi.  I would love to sit here and expound on all the attributes of this wonderful place, but Barry Moser says it all in the very beginning of his celebration of Lemuria.

"A few years ago I was writing a speech and wanted to quote a line that Lt. Col. "Bull Meacham says in the film The Great Santini.  I had not read Pat Conroy's book at that time and wanted to know that what I was about to quote was in the book, not just in the movie.  Now understand that I live in one of the most bookish places in the country, home to Smith College, Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mt. Holyoke College, and the main campus of the University of Massachusetts, all within ten miles of each other.  But when I started looking around the area for a copy of Conroy's book, I couldn't find one.  Nary a single copy was in any bookstore---new or used, big box or independent---in the valley.  So I decided to call John Evans.  John owns one of the finest bookstores in America:  Lemuria Books in Jackson, Mississippi, which specializes in books by Southern writers and all manner of things Southern.  I called Johnny and asked if he had a copy.  His response?

"Yeah, Barry, sure I do.  You want it in paperback, hardback, or signed first edition?" "

My own copy of My Bookstore actually was purchased at Lemuria, after a slight reminder to Santa it was missing Christmas morning.  The clerk not only made sure Santa received a copy signed by Mr. Moser, she marked it with one of their wonderful bookmarks assuring us it was one of the best articles in the book.  A point I concur with wholeheartedly.

We always schedule a stop to browse when passing through Jackson.

Okay, so now onto explain my title for this post.   I am sure many noticed in my last post there was a photograph of two books stacked on top of my ereader.



As I am reading through a book extolling the virtues of independent booksellers and the necessity of keeping them alive, nodding and agreeing with every word, I am reeling with guilt because I not only download some of the books I read to an ereader, I am now the owner (a birthday present from the above mentioned Santa) of an....

iPad mini.

I will not lie, while I love nothing better than holding "a real book" in my hands, turning the pages,  inhaling the aroma of paper and wondering who might have opened the covers hoping to find a good read,  I enjoy the ease and convenience of an electronic book when traveling.

The thought of the demise of "hard copies" of books and subsequently bookstores makes me extremely sad.  To know there may at sometime be a generation of children who not know the pleasure of holding their very own first  "real" book tears at my very core.  And yet, I am in a small way part of the very problem.  We all know a lot of smalls make one great big "large".

I hope, and I believe there is a place for both the bookseller and the digital book in our future.  What do you think?

Do you have a favorite bookstore?
Do you download some of your reads digitally?