Bookstore Musings

Got to spend some time in the good old bookstore last night, made me a happy girl :-)  As I was walking through the store several random thoughts and occurrences popped into my head, here are some in no particular rhyme or reason.

Walking through all of the shelves of books, with all the different genre's, authors, topics, styles, stories, characters, covers, and page counts I realized as screwed up as this country is on occasion, how awesome is it that I can walk into a bookstore and pick up any book I want and not have to be afraid that I will be arrested, or punished for it.  Not only that, but you can write about whatever you want to as well, now these big box stores are not exactly known for there diversity when it comes to stocking lesser known titles, but if you compare the variety to some other places we kinda kick hinney!  Not to mention there is always

somewhere either in person or online that you can get access to just about any book you want, I love that.
Hubbin was following me around laughing at my little puppy excitedness and angst over having to just choose one book (not enough cash for my normal three :-( ).  We were in my favorite SciFi/Fantasy section when he picks up a random book and starts laughing.  As I make my way through the stacks I turn around and realize he is following me while reading the book, which is normally something that is more my territory.  Apparently the book caught his attention enough to not be able to put down, which I took as a sign that I had to buy it immediately.  We have decided that it will be our car book and I will read it aloud to him on our daily commute, a little bibliophile bonding if you will.
Since we had some extra time I wandered into the sections I rarely go to unless I need something specific.  I ended up in the Math/Neuroscience/Electronics section and sat myself down to see what kind off books this lesser visited area had to offer.  Oddly enough I actually found a couple interesting books, but what really struck me is the enthusiasm lovers of this area have.  Just because I may not find it interesting does not mean other people are not passionate about it, and in some of the books the passion really came through.  The other thing that stuck with me is the zillions of applications some of these topics have that I would never have thought of...even though they made sense after I had seen them (Steampunk robotics anyone?!?)
The sheer variety of people and the odd places you find them in a bookstore is always awesome.  You see
the business woman in the SciFi/Fantasy, the teeny bopper picking up a Jane Austin, grandpa with his arms full of Manga, and a young dad reading Fancy Nancy to his even younger son.  Bookstores just seem to be a place where it doesn't matter what your life is outside the doors, when you are in there you are a reader and that makes you part of the coolest group in the world!
What sort of musings strike you when you are in a bookstore?  How do yo convince yourself to just buy one book? No seriously tell me 'cause I may have spent grocery money on more books then I should have!  What is your favorite section in a bookstore?