The Book Business

Well, we all know how the economy looks right now. We can't get away from it.

Sure, gas prices are going down (and that's cause for celebration in my book, don't get me wrong. It still makes me giggle to pass a $1.99 gas sign), but only because the demand is steadily lowering as the economy circles the drain closer and closer.

And, of course, with any major downturn, the book business suffers too.

Discouraging news.

And a lot of it.

Life without bookstores. Think about it for a second. There might be libraries, and I think there's a place for that--books that have been loved and read and preserved and, to some degree, imprinted on by those who've read them.

But I love the smell and feel of new books. I love the astounding variety and the bright colors and the understated covers (and the overstated ones, really) that catch my eye and promise me something. Escape. Adventure. Something to think about. And more than that, when I buy a book, it's mine. Mine to imprint my memories on as I read it, to take with me wherever I want. To share with other people who will love it, but always to take back. Mine.

I rely on bookstores. I love them. I never want to see them go away.

And the only way I can keep them here is to buy books from them.

You can too.

Keep buying books. Keep supporting authors. Keep the love of the written word alive before it drowns in text-messages.

That's all any of us can do. Before we were writers, we were readers, and between writing, we're still readers.

22,800 words and counting, feeling unusually pensive today.

Miri.