Are you a bibliophile? I am. Our rumpus room downstairs (20×30) is almost wall-to-wall bookshelves. It’s an addiction. I’ve read most of what’s down there. We have “quiet reading time” here at home for an hour during the school day. It’s a chance for me to catch up on my sanity (still working on that!) and gives the children a scheduled chance to read. My mom started this when we were kids, and I thought it was a great idea.
Our librarians know us by name, but sometimes you want a book of your own. Maybe you know you’ll read it a dozen times, maybe it’s a bathtub book, or just too new for the library to have it. That’s when it’s off to the bookstore!
A bookstore is a world within four walls. You can go anywhere, do anything, and be anybody in a book. It forces the brain to use different parts than watching an educational TV show, and is good mental exercise. My favorite genre right now is historical fiction. It’s growing, which means more and more better choices for me to devour.
Know what the best selling genre is? Among paperback books, it sells more than HALF of all books sold, and about a third of all fiction sold in total. If you said mystery, you’re close. Mysteries account for almost a quarter of fiction. That’s even more than “General Fiction”. Science Fiction (my son, Elisha’s, favorite) picks up 6.5%. But it is romantic fiction garnering the lion’s share. Yep, those little books with the Fabio-like model on the front, holding a beautiful damsel in a dipped pose. To my husband’s delight, I’ve never gotten into the romance novels. But if you have, right now you can print a coupon for 25% off the latest escapade.
The coupon’s good for 25% off the list price of any book. That’s a little sneaky since a lot of books are already discounted when they hit their shelves. But if you’re after a new book that is still going for full retail, it’s a great deal.