6 Things Book Lovers Do At Bookstores

Before I started seriously reading books, I still always enjoyed going to bookstores. They have this charm to them that other stores don’t and usually carry journals and stationary (things I love)!

The ironic part of it is that I’d go to bookstores all the time to look at everything but books. Obviously things have changed a lot since then. I’m now that customer that spends way too long in the bookstore browsing the shelves deciding which books (note the plurality haha) I want to take home with me.

With the pandemic that’s been going on, it’s been harder to get into bookstores so I’ve been buying online – which is still nice but not as nice as being in a physical store where you can find books you’ve never heard of and just browse. This year I realized that I’ve been taking physical stores for granted so every time lockdown eases a bit and I can visit a bookstore in person, I’ll do that and really soak in the experience.

At the bookstores, I always see other people browsing shelves and find myself wondering if they have the same browsing tendencies and habits that I do. I’ve never gone to ask anyone what they do but from what I observe, most book shoppers are just like me!

Here are 6 things book lovers do at bookstores:

1. Go straight to their preferred section

Mine is the Young Adults (YA) section. No matter how large the bookstore is and how much variety the adult section has, I will always head straight to the YA section first and probably spend the most amount of time there. Of course I’ll still browse the rest of the store but you’ll find me going back to the YA section one more time before I leave just to make sure I didn’t miss anything hahaha!

2. Browse other sections even though they know they probably won’t be interested

When you enter a bookstore, the YA section (my fave) is usually not at the front – it’s usually to the side or back of the store. I always look around at the new releases and “featured” books because I try to give all books a shot. But let’s be real – all I’m thinking is “how close am I to the YA section?”

3. Get excited when they recognize book titles

We get excited when we see books we’ve seen on Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok! “So that’s how it looks in person!”, “wow it’s thick”, *holds it and puts it back down*.

4. Pick up books and flip through them to have a feel for it 

It’s really hard to just look at books – we need to feel them too. Not quite sure what we’re feeling for but we just like to get acquainted with it a bit you know? Get a feel for the size, weight, look at the inside cover, peek under the dust jacket, the usual shenanigans.

5. Point out the books THEY already own

Even though we already own them, we still get excited when we see it on the shelves. It’s less exciting when we’re shopping alone but if we have someone with us, we’ll likely point out every single book we own on those store shelves (sorry hehe)

6. GET Excited at checkout

We’ve finally made it to the checkout line – that’s an accomplishment in itself! As we line up and hold the books in our arms we can’t help but get excited about reading them…and taking pictures of them and telling our friends about our new purchases!

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I wish I could comment more on used or small bookstores but there aren’t any of those near where I am. I’m looking forward to COVID being over so I can travel a bit farther away from home and find some quaint little shops.

When’s the last time you’ve been to a bookstore in person and what are some of the things you always do when you’re shopping for books?