confession time, I really love buying books // book-a-holic's anonymous tag

[@purplepumpkin6894]

Don't be late for work, Lillian! Oooo, I'm definitely staying tuned to find out how the Paris Shakespeare and Company is going to come into play in your videos ...😉 As book-a-holics, our TBR's will never end, but what a wonderful problem to have...🙂 For a small town, downtown Staunton, VA has no less than four or five new and used independent bookstores, most within walking distance of each other. I spent a delightful afternoon this summer exploring all of them. I had a gift card to spend at one of the stores, the Book Dragon, and, unsurprisingly, I went way beyond the limit of my gift card when I was there. The newest bookstore in Staunton is Books & Tea, which, hence the name, offers new books as well as various kinds of teas. It had the most curated collection I've ever seen in a bookstore - a relatively small amount of books - but most of which I've heard discussed on BookTube. Needless to say, my wallet took a big hit there as well... Looking forward to yet another haul from you, Lillian, and your thoughts on everything!

[@paperbackstacksss]

I managed to snag the final bus to the metro station that morning! I grew up in between two larger towns (the suburbs in between), and am sad to say that the one I went to school in no longer has -any- brick and mortar bookstores in it. There used to be a large Barnes and Nobel that I'd (occasionally) skip school to go hang out in, it was multifloored and had a cafe you could read in. While I'd much rather have independent bookstores, it was still a really sad day when that Barnes and Nobel closed! The other town I'm near has a few independent bookstores but they're on the other side of the city from where I'm situated :( Having multiple great bookstores within walking distance from each other sounds heavenly and also very dangerous!

[@purplepumpkin6894]

Lillian, you skipped school to hang out in a Barnes & Noble?!? My goodness, girl... Well, if I had received a moldy, yucky copy of Frankenstein from my school when I was in high school, I probably would have skipped in protest as well. And, let it be known, no one receives moldy books from me in my school....😄 Staunton, VA is, indeed, a heavenly, yet dangerous (to the wallet) place! In addition to the independent bookstores within walking distance to each other, there are really cool restaurants, a small movie theater, antique and thrift shops, museums (Woodrow Wilson Birthplace and Library among other museums), Blackfriar's Shakespeare theater, a ghost tour, beautiful Victorian architecture, a church that was very briefly the site of the Virginia legislature during the Revolutionary War, the site of an annual Harry Potter festival that takes place every September (Downtown Staunton transforms into Diagon Alley - there are plenty of places to pick up a mug of butter beer), etc. The number one ranked independent toy store in the nation a few years ago (Pufferbellies - founded by a librarian, of course) is in downtown Staunton. And all of this is within walking distance...public transportation isn't necessary to explore downtown Staunton. (No, I don't work for the Staunton, VA tourism office, although I sound like I should.) 😄