There is a silence in old bookstores — but they are not truly silent. If you look around, you’ll hear the stories of people in the form of words. You feel like exploring them. Old bookstores. Where it feels like time has stopped. You enjoy the slow life.
A corner of the street. A nostalgic building with faded colors, and books arranged in an aesthetic manner (or at least I feel they are aesthetic). Not many people go there nowadays — which I secretly feel is a blessing. But I know that’s difficult for the shop owner. I enjoy the calm ambience. The smell of books. Old books — which carry so many memories. First, you take one from the rack and smell it. The aroma brings a nostalgic feeling.
“I love walking into a bookstore. It’s like all my friends are sitting on shelves, waving their pages at me.”
~ Tahereh Mafi
There’s a joy in finding the books you love among thousands. Every time you go, you find something new. Every time you visit a bookstore, you, as a reader, also change. You grow. You evolve. You should visit old bookstores in every season.
You’ll discover a new charm each time — morning sunshine sliding through the trees and lighting up the books kept outside the store, the golden hour breeze of evening, the cozy stillness of rainy days — everything feels different and beautiful.
I think we don’t choose the books;
books choose the right reader.
There are a few old bookstores in Bengaluru that I usually visit. Sometimes I don’t buy anything. Sometimes I buy more than I need. Most of the time, I don’t go with a particular book in mind — I just explore and try to discover something. I love to hang around, enjoy the ambience, and feel rejuvenated.
Whenever I’m in a bookstore, I feel like I’m in another world. Every old book holds more than just a story — a handwritten line from a previous owner, a journey over decades, timeless conversations.
There is a charm in old bookstores.
One that still holds the city’s old memories.