Although I prefer independent bookstores, I happened to find myself in a Barnes & Noble between other activities on a recent weekend. This ended up being good for my spirits, although I didn’t buy anything. The reason was, perhaps, ageist of me, that I was buoyed up by seeing so many young adults there buying books. Granted, it was a cold, gray Sunday afternoon, but I read so much about the death of reading that this particular trip gave a bit of balance to all the doomsayers. There is still a reading public. And many of them are a good bit younger than yours truly. I do wish more people my age would spend time in bookstores as well, but the future is with those who know to put down their devices and pick up actual books.
I’ve had more than one academic tell me that they do not assign e-reading for their classes. One of them was a decade or two younger than me. The reason? Students don’t retain well what they read on a screen. I tend to agree with this. The context of setting aside time to open a book with no interruptions from texts, emails, or social media, is sacred. You shut out the world and concentrate. I try to do this for an hour each day (most days more than an hour) and it has to be done with print books. I have no great love of electronic “books.” The experience is sterile. Devoid of true engagement. And I’ve even been forced to read ebooks with other people’s highlights left behind. When I buy a used book I try to make certain it’s an unmarked copy (although some sellers don’t look very carefully). Why would I want an ebook with somebody else’s notes?
The visit to a bookstore is a restorative one. In the rare instance where I know the proprietor, it becomes a social visit as well as a financial transaction. Books are a kind of currency among some of us. Although I know none of the names of the young people that I saw at Barnes & Noble, I do know something about them. They enjoy books. That is one of the most hopeful thoughts I can have. As long as we manage to survive as a species, there is hope for the future if young people are interested in books. Reading is a mind-expanding exercise. Our life together is so much more enriching when we invite others in. And some of them we meet between the covers of books.