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One of my favorite indulgences is a few solitary hours in a bookstore, coffee in hand. I haven’t done that since we moved overseas, because 1. the English sections of bookstores here are pretty miniscule (as to be expected, of course), and 2. people here don’t walk around with coffee drinks - you sit down and drink them.
So this is something I am giddily anticipating. The first opportunity for some alone time, and I know exactly what I’ll be doing.
My question for you today:
You have two hours alone in a bookstore. No kids. No agenda. What section in the store do you investigate first, and what types of books do you settle in to explore?
Feel free to share specific books you’ve loved recently!
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{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
An interesting cookbook or a book on health.
Laine Chambers’s last blog post…Slippin’ and a Slidin’!
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First I start by gathering magazines…scrapbooking, cooking, photography and maybe photoshop. Then move to the fiction section to find some fun, fluffy books–you know the ones, they are just the right size in your hands and the topic is something no deeper than shopping. But then we need to add a little intellectual stimulation to the stack–so off to the organization, self-help, cooking and/or Christian sections. Once my arms are laden down with the perfect browsing books, I find a comfy chair and settle in to read and sip my coffee.
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simplemom Reply:
September 30th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Wow, sounds like you’ve got your system down to a T.
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I really enjoy going through the spirituality, self-help section and the cookbook section. I’ll grab a huge stack of books then find a comfy chair and flip through them all. Sometimes I’ll even go into the humor section and find a Dave Barry book or something like that.
Writing this makes me want to go to the bookstore real bad.
Chelsey @ Brown Eyed Basics’s last blog post…Mom’s chicken, broccoli and cheese casserole
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simplemom Reply:
September 30th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I adore Dave Barry. He’s a great read for those laid-back B&N days.
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Ah bookstores. I have a rather set round of our Barnes and Noble. I hit the magazine rack to see the latest Spin-off, then head for the language and photography books. If there’s time I browse the kids’ educational, history, bargain section, and occasionally the kids graphic novel section (this is my no brainer read).
Avlor’s last blog post…“Lightscoop” wanna be (for now)…
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I usually head straight to the travel section, pass by the classic novels (I love the matching Penguin covers they do those in!), and maybe some new photography magazines, or Real Simple magazine if they’ve got a copy (I always read this in Borders as it’s imported over here and super expensive!).
Emma’s last blog post…September Round-up.
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I typically start out at the magazine section, then move on to the new fiction. I can always find a new book out that looks good enough to buy! Then I’ll check out the craft section and then self help books. Now that my kids are in school full time I find I spend more and more time at the bookstore. It was never any fun to shop with them!
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I am a sucker for magazines. I don’t get any subscriptions anymore so that’s my little treat about once a month or so to go and get a latte and read magazines.
I do also venture into the books. I have so little time these days, that I usually just hit the “recommended” shelf or “most popular” table and browse those.
Then I always go into the fiction section to see if Wally Lamb has a new book out yet. I’ve been waiting for ages.
Emily’s last blog post…Your Stuff Is Talking About You
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straight ahead to the craft books! load as many as i can into my arms, maybe grab a cookbook or two, then swing by the magazine section. next step: locate a table or comfy chair and dive right in…
perfect!
(i too, used to spend *hours* alone in the bookshop - a rare luxury now with two young kids - and it is still one of my favorite escapes!)
liz’s last blog post…the princess and the pea
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Interesting that we seem to have similar tastes: I always hit the cooking section, then self-help (health, home organization, etc.) and history section. I’ll hit the children’s section for my boys, then the magazines on the way out. Thinking about this, I realize I never actuallly sit down - other than cross legged in an aisle for a moment. I never get that much time in a bookstore - but what a worthy indulgence! Next time I’ll stake out a comfy chair.
Erin’s last blog post…On the night stand …
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If I’m by myself and not on a time schedule, I will look at everything. I love book stores and am afraid of missing something wonderful if I stay in one section.
I will, however, definitely make sure I hit up the classics, fiction, knitting, and anything else that tickles my fancy at the time.
tabitha’s last blog post…Buying Our Home
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2 hours in a bookstore solo…that would be heavenly! I would hit the fiction section first, then magazines. I love looking at the photography mags, but I’d love to browse some new fiction!
Tracie’s last blog post…Maymont Park
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I love the thought of it already. I would probably go for a photography book of sorts. I love to try to figure out why people take the pictures they do and what they were feeling/thinking at the time!
Also, a recent super read…Mistaken Identity by Van Ryn, Cerak, and Mark Tabb. “The families of Laura Van Ryn and Whitney Cerak tell their true stories. Two families, one survivor, unwavering hope.” Incredible on so many levels.
jackie.’s last blog post…saturday.fun
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I get my coffee and go straight for the knitting/sewing/crafting section. I pull out all the new or newish books and take my stack to a (hopefully) vacant chair and sit and look through them all. I write down the titles I want to look for in my library and then reshelve all the books.
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Wow, I don’t remember the last time I went to any book store and didn’t go right to the kids section. I am teaching myslef to crochet so I would go to the craft section first, but the best instructional books on things like that are often found in the kids section. And if I get in the kids section I can’t seem to get out.
But if I did get out I would head to the decorating section. So many books, and so little time.
Stephanie’s last blog post…Looking Back to Look Ahead
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ohgoodohgod where do I start???
that’s a day in *heaven*, seriously…
I would try to hit the clearance section, magazines, craft books,and possibly glance at the education section, then I woudl go to the children’s section to look at the cool & expensive reference books with popups and stuff.
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I head straight for the Business and Investment section. Like a moth to the flame … I can’t help it.
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Oh, I’m all over the cookbooks (gluten-free for DH) and the sewing and quilting books. A cup of coffee is the icing on the cake!
angela’s last blog post…and so it begins
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I start off in the magazine area (that can take a good 20 minutes) followed by the Home/Decorating/Cooking area. I generally stop for a coffee and cake break and then onto the fiction and see if there is anything new that I want to get. I generally finish up at the kids books to see if there is anything new I can surprise my daughter with. Okay it’s worrying me now that I never browse anything else!
Liz@VioletPosy’s last blog post…Having bit of a panic attack…
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I’m liking Francine Rivers lately. I’m reading the last in her series about the 5 women in Jesus’ lineage. It’s awesome! Makes them seem like real people with real trials.
And coffee. I’d definitely have coffee. Probably a mocha with carmel and either vanilla or hazelnut. My 3 fav combos. Oh! Or a zebra mocha with raspberry. Now you’ve got me thinkin’ coffee. Man!
Caitlin’s last blog post…Fingerprint Friday
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Well the first section I look through is almost always the clearance rack - what books can I get for $2-5… Then I usually meander through the new books, the on display books, then look at my favorite authors. Typically when I go off to peruse a handful of books it will include a mystery book or two, some fluffy fiction, something from the young adult section and then some kind of non fiction from religion / history / biography / or food & diet related….
Jen E’s last blog post…Roll Out The Welcome Wagon
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I love to look at pretty editions of the classics or of books I’ve truly enjoyed. And if I’m in a foreign country, I’ll buy “The little price” by Antoine de Saint-Exupèry, in the language of the country. I already have it inSpanish, Catalan, English, French, Greek, German, Italian, Portuguese and Swedish.
Gracia’s last blog post…Youngsters saving money.
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Oh, I love going to Half Price Books (where i was once employed) and exploring the whole store. I do tend to linger in the craft section and I have to look at the picture books even if I’m alone. My last stop is always the teacher section where I fuel my fragile urge to home school by observing how cheap the curriculum is!
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I check out the crafty/household books, the best-sellers/recommended, the “God” section, and the pretty pretty stationery/journals… and probably the sale racks too.
I basically love bookstores, and will go pretty much anywhere. Plus - it’s hard to imagine two whole uninterrupted hours… sounds fabulous!
Katie’s last blog post…powerful stuff
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How the store is set up usually guides me. Usually novels are near the front so I lazily browse those, seeing if there are any books I have heard about recently that spark my interest.
I will without fail wander to the political/historical section and spend some time there (the last two times I have been to the bookstore I have ALMOST bought the autobio of Nelson Mandela - maybe next time?). After that I will usually wander over to the religious/spiritual section and check out some of the more eastern leaning books. Lately I have wandered over to the money management section as well!
Even if it is me time I without fail at least glance at the children and young adult books because while I usually won’t by anything for myself but the boys are another matter altogether.
And of course I spend a long time longingly thumbing through the blank journals.
Lucie @ Unconventional Origins’s last blog post…Reader Survey - Please oh Please Respond!
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I would browse the fiction and look for both chick lit and thought provoking best seller type books to add to my “check out at the library” list. Then I’d head over to the stationary and gifts, I love pretty things. If I had any time after that I would look at photography & travel books
UncommonBlonde’s last blog post…Delivered with a Smile
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What a treat that would be, pre children this is what I did every Saturday I loved mulling over book shelves, if I had a choice it would have to be the craft department, to flick through all those books for inspiration, a short visit to an inspiring section to either spiritually or motivational….What a treat this would be.
Suzie Sews’s last blog post…A change is in the air…
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Clearance racks first. then spirituality, kids/education/parenting, cooking/nutrition, business, languages, then browse the other non-fiction to see if anything floats my boat.
With a nice hot chocolate (sorry coffee is too bitter to me). Does that disqualify me
?
Jen’s last blog post…Money Monday is moving…
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I would check out the newest in trade paperbacks first, a stroll through the teen reads (for my girls) and finish with the cookbooks. There’s nothing better than new books (and coffee for you!). Enjoy your B&N time.
Nancy’s last blog post…Tomatoes + Blender
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I’d go straight to the knitting section! Then if I don’t use up all of my time there I’ll go to the magazines. I love reading all types of books, but these are what I would browse in the store.
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I love this question. You really are a girl after my own heart. I live in a small town and we just got a Barnes and Noble about 6 months…and I completely love it. I grew up in Chicago so I am used to bookstores! Anyway, I usually start in the Art section. Gather some design books. Grab a few photography books. Then I settle in and browse and pick a few to take home. Then I make my way to the fiction, see what is new, what looks good, and grab one of those too. I also have a sick addiction to children’s books. I spend the rest of my time there, looking for something for each of my little boys. My latest and greatest find is a book called One by Kathryn Otoshi. It is so unique and so beautiful.
Holly O.’s last blog post…Happy Birthday Dad
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I spend most of the time in the bargain books, especially the cookbooks and children’s books. Never, never, never pay full price for a book! I like to look at the craft and decorating books. I would never sit down and read a magazine without buying it though - that feels like stealing somehow…I keep all my magazines for years so I can re-read them over and over. It’s the pictures that draw me in most of all . Isn’t there something theraputic and healing about being in a book store?
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The writing/reference section. And fiction. Yum.
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I love going to bookstores! My hubby and I used to spend Sat. morning at Borders (before kids!) getting a coffee and reading!
I usually only have time to hit magazines and decorating sections anymore! I used to love to read novels (murder mystery especially), but don’t seem to have the time or brain power as a busy mom! lol!!
Blessings,
Stacey
Stacey @ The Blessed Nest’s last blog post…Globe Bowl Project
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For it is always the arts and crafts section which would include photography and how-tos. I love books that inspire creativity!
Trish’s last blog post…My "baby" is 2!
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I look for my favorite authors first. Mercedes Lackey and Amy Thompson (who no one ever carries. *sobsob*.)
Then I look at the ‘coffee table’ type books.
Angie’s last blog post…Auditioning Do’s and Don’ts!
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Enter door, turn right, proceed to in-store Starbucks. With extra hot, grande cinnamon dolcé in hand I head over to the “new arrivals” to see if James Patterson is still writing faster than I am reading. Make mental note of the hardbacks I will read as soon as its paperback is released. Next I check the ‘new in paperback’ rack, looking for Patterson, Koontz, DeMille, or Slaughter in particular. One of those four always has a new one and I am contractually obligated to buy it. I usually browse the self-help section until I realize that none of the other self-help books I’ve purchased have worked. I then conduct a serpentine tour of the entire store, stopping occasionally as something catches my eye to read the book jacket, all the while making mental notes of all the books I still intend to write. Make slurping noise to get the last drop out of the cup as I approach the magazine rack. Look for new issue of MacLife, Wired, and Bicycling. Choose one and then look for a ‘guilt offering’ magazine for Karen (your mother, ya know) to make up for the time gone and to salve my conscience for my selfish purchases (one for me - one for her; it’s worked okay for 34 years). If there is a line at the register, a quick lap through the gadget, blank journals, doodads area. I must touch as many Moleskines as possible as I imagine their necessity in my life. Eventually check out around the time the store announces it’s time for us to all go away and find our houses. At home, I add my book purchase to my constant stack of 4 or 5 books “in the process of being read” rearranging the batting order based on mood. Anchoring the stack is my copy of Atlas Shrugged which I really will read someday. I have to. I then find your mother and say, “Looky what I brought you!”
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Fun question!
No kids…trying to picture it, really. It’s hard.
1) the latest nutrition books, sneaking into the food books
2) the latest sociology books, especially on American culture
3) the latest parenting books
Settle down in a comfy chair. Read and read.
Laura at Wild Parenting’s last blog post…My Name is Not "Rachel’s Mother"
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Well, first off, I am a psychology student (I have 2 more quarters to getting my bachelors degree) so I would grab a cup of coffee, and head for the psychology section. I have recently read a book called “reviving Ophelia” which is about a psychologist that helps girls deal with issues in Jr. high and high school. It is a must read for individuals who have daughters. It really opened my eyes to what these girls go through and gives real examples and tips at how to help them.
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I start with the new releases, and more likely than not, I’ll end up in the computer books section, pull out something I haven’t yet learned, get a hot chocolate, and read for a while.
SOMETIMES the new releases grab me and I grab back.
Shelley’s last blog post…Last 10 for Tuesday in September!
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I usually start at the magazines, then check out the bargain books then over to business and graphic design. Oooh. Nothing better than coffee and a bookstore! Enjoy.
Tara’s last blog post…“Natural” Baby Product Claims are Misleading Parents
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First stop - grab myself a hot chocolate! (it was 47 degrees in Green Bay this morning!) Then off to the bargain tables searching for Christmas gifts! That will take at least an hour
Then sitting down flipping through the paper crafting magazines. Ohhh lots of ideas. Next - off to the gift area - where all the journals and fancy pens are.
I’d be too cheap to buy a book for myself - I normally just go to the library for that.
Dana’s last blog post…Matthew West CD giveaway!
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First, history. Then the kids section then magazines. That’s pretty much the routine every time.
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I start with the stuff on sale and then move to the children’s section. From there, I usually check out anything homeschooling related, then Christianity/spirituality. After that, I check out whatever looks interesting that day - sometimes cookbooks, sometimes self-help, sometimes fiction, etc.
I rarely buy books these days, but I love spending an hour or so in a bookstore or library.
Catherine’s last blog post…Menu Plan Monday - September 29. 2008
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Now that’s a fun question! For me, first I would grab a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato, and then I’d head on over to the Cookbooks section. From there I’d probably meander over to the Running section (yes, this section does exist in large chain bookstores). If I still had time, I’d hit the newly released paperbacks. Fun!
Carmen’s last blog post…Ink Paper Create Challenge #7
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I love the bookstore! It’s also kind of nice that my Husband likes to go, all the time. We go and get lost for hours. I usually check out the bargain books first. They tend to display a mix of items, most of which I would have never thought to look for. I then usually settle in around the home improvement/house/decorating area. I think my favorite part about the bookstore is that it gets my creative juices flowing. I leave there ready to take on the world and make dreams happen. =)
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This summer my husband and I read “The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey so I’m pretty geared up about that. Before that I finally read “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen and LOVED it. I’m moving on to Sense and Sensibility next. I pretty much gravitate toward fiction, and even when my daughter isn’t there, I can’t help but check out the children’s section.
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I always end up in the magazines… soaking up every cooking/decorating/fashion magazine I can get my hands on. (I might read some gossip-y stuff, too!)
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I always visit the health section first, and since it’s near the beauty section I browse that one too. Then I move onto cookbooks, and then fiction - mostly chick flicks and fantasy. I also like to browse the fitness DVDs if they have them.
Elisa’s last blog post…Here Comes the Sun!
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I will browse two widely different sections:
1.- Young Adult Fiction
2.- Philosophy.
Then maybe religion, productivity, scifi
Miguel de Luis’s last blog post…Starting a new policy, link love.
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Oh, this is going on my calendar RIGHT NOW. My kids are all in school for the first time ever. It’s been eleven years since I went to a bookstore alone for more than 5 minutes. Amazon and I go way back.
Now that I CAN go, I’ve forgotten all about it. When I go, I think I’ll probably wander all over. I tend to look at books about whatever I’m obsessing over at the moment. Before a trip: travel books. When I learned to crochet: crochet books and magazines. Now: probably books on blogging and html and wordpress and whatever else I decide I need to know.
Thanks for the reminder!
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