the small town feeling that comes with knowing the local shop owners has been replaced by big box stores.
albeit a chain retailer, when i'm in barnes & noble i'm somewhat reminded of what life used to be. when you had to go to a library to do research and people read for recreation.
for some reason, in this store, people post up with homework, paperwork & of course, good books.
in the part of the store that has bistro seating i have seen people meet for dates, coffee & i have even seen an older couple bring in takeout and have dinner. seriously. i was able to catch that moment on camera.
the most interesting thing to me, is that this location is in a regular open air mall. the things i see here, are what i expect to see at a university library. any time i'm in the store there are people curled up in the corners reading, on the floor when all the chairs are taken. on a more recent visit i saw a young woman, who had pulled another chair to act as an ottoman, lounging with a book like she was on her sofa at home.
the most important thing i see here that i do not see at other retailers is human interaction. people discussing great literature or any of the topics between the pages of any given book. all these things lead me to believe that barnes & noble is the last great retailer in america. & also a great place for loiterers.
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