Our Daily Lives by Kat Pham

The Smell of a Bookstore I have never been an avid reader. It wasn’t until June where I added reading onto a small summer bucket list, that I decided to try turning it into a hobby. The area where I live doesn’t have many used book stores, so I opted for a local Barnes and Nobles instead. The day before, I spent an hour watching book recommendation videos, picking and choosing which ones I should get when I got there.

Walking into the Barnes and Noble, I felt a wave of calm rush over me. All I could hear was the slight chatter at the corner Starbucks, the muffle of books being stacked, and the crickets’ music playing quietly in the bushes by the entrance. It was a bit overwhelming, I’m not sure why I was nervous. I was just going to read books, what did I have to be nervous about? The process seemed so foreign and it was too quiet inside. Has it really been that long since I have been into a bookstore? I slowly scanned each aisle for my first book and out of nowhere–– squeak. I looked down as I saw my chunky black loafers, squeaking with each step. My cheeks turned pink and I felt like I was in the “Squeaky Boots’ episode from SpongeBob SquarePants. I shuffled my feet back and forth, “maybe it wasn’t me” squeak. It was. After acquiring every book on my list, I hurried over to the cafe seating area and thus, the first day of my new hobby began.

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