The Magic of Barnes and Noble

I love wandering bookstores, specifically Barnes and Noble.
The first time I entered a Barnes and Noble I was probably 15. I remember being so impressed with the magazine “wall”. Any magazine I could possibly think of was there. I had never seen such a large display of magazines in my life because before Barnes and Noble, Savemart was where I picked up most of my cheesy teen mags.
Going to Barnes and Noble was a big deal. We would have to drive an hour to get to it. We would sometimes go on long family drives that somehow ended at Barnes and Noble. We would travel to go bum around Modesto (the nearest big city with the biggest Mall) and thinking back, I’m not quite sure we even went up there for a specific reason, just to bum around stores. Merced was so boring we drove an hour to walk around a mall!I even remember bringing friends to B&N. It was like, “Hey, what are you doing today?” “Probably go check out B&N, you wanna come?” and we actually had a really fun time. I remember one specific trip, I was about 16 and sitting cross legged in the Travel section with Nick and reading all these books on cool places we wanted to go. I think that’s when we decided to be in New York for New Years 2000. Sadly that never happened, but I remember sitting there talking about cool places we wanted to visit and looking colorful books and daydreaming. I also remember sitting in the humor section for hours thumbing through hilarious books with him and laughing. It was so simple, and so much fun.
I guess that’s why there is something so comforting about bookstores, specifically Barnes and Noble (Borders just doesn’t do it for me) those little green signs that show the subjects, the smell of fresh coffee, the rows of endless information, and little hidden memories. I still go wander for hours. Hours. And, don’t rush me when I am at B&N. I get very upset when I am rushed. Don’t follow me either. I like weaving my way through the maze like I am in a daze, until I feel really uncomfortable because I have wandered into the Gay and Lesbian section on accident. You know you’ve done it. Plus, it’s a lot more fun when you stumble back into people and you get to show them all the little treasures you found. I should buy Barnes and Noble stock because I swear there is something magical about it.