stuck in the dream of the 90s

AMAZING

quick reminder that it’s ok to say that you love reading and that reading is your passion without reading 30+ books in a year. if you connect with books and love the power of the written word, you’re bookish. you don’t need to justify your love of reading.

People come into the library all the time feeling like they have to apologize for not reading very much or not visiting weekly, and I can’t stress enough to them that THAT DOESN’T MATTER!!! YOU’RE HERE NOW AND WE’RE ALL EXCITED!! It just means that I have way more books to show you that you haven’t read before to find your perfect read!! And frankly, the only people I expect to read more than me is the absolutely amazing Retired Power Readers that have the time to knock back a book a day.

obsessed with mass market paperbacks. their pleasing rectangular proportions. how they fit badly in a hoodie pocket so you can drag them around everywhere with you like a temporary little buddy. the way they fit in your hand because they're MADE for human hands and not as bookshelf decoration. the way the pages feel when you riffle them gently with your thumb. How pristine and crisp they look when you get them and how creased and folded they look when you're done, even if you try to be nice to them. how that wear is okay, how that's correct actually, because they're made with the philosophy that books aren't meant to be PRETTY, they're meant to be read. that little ripple new ones get on the left side from where you hold them when you're reading, the way the ripple only goes as far as you've read, because u change stories by reading as they are changing you. how you can find thousands of these creased and folded and loved little dudes in every thrift store and used book shop and neighborhood library and you can instantly see the ones that someone carried around in a backpack for weeks or read to pieces or gave up on halfway through because they wear being read like fresh snow wears footprints. I love these poorly made, subpar little rectangles so much. truly the people's books.

My favorite used bookstore is full of mass market romances from the 80s, 90s, and 00s and they’re all so janky and loved. It’s by far my favorite place to get books!