Hands brushing the pages of books, I am perusing the discounted books on the cart outside the store one by one. Sunshine lights up the pages, wilting the older novels while guiding my eyes towards my next adventure. Thin edges are pinched by my fingers gliding to the next page. Bookstores are my favorite venture.
We are in Soho — Monica and I had a great Thai lunch at Fish Cheeks, our favorite restaurant, and soon wandered the streets with our stomachs filled. As we exit Bond Street, we wander towards Prince Street to hit our most favorite bookstore: McNally Jackson. Opening the heavy glass door, our eyes flash to rows filled with books of many genres and stories. I look at her, she looks at me, and we lose each other in an instant.
In the very front are the most popular books, I begin my quest here. Names I have heard before, some I have not, pique my interest in art, literature, philosophies, etc. Stories of immigrants hold my sight longer than the rest. Most of all, my horrible habit from childhood continues to dictate my adulthood: judging books by their cover. If the cover is not what I deem pretty, I will not even think about picking it up. Even in my college life, I have perpetuated this routine. So while I walk towards the center aisle of popular books looking for the aesthetically pleasing covers, Monica is browsing all the economics, math, and psychology books.
Our personalities and interests take form in our choices very clearly. She is highly analytical whereas I am very hypothetical. I have learned her focus on consumers, business markets, and all the in-betweens. She picks up books about game theory, talks about her future in finance, and shows up to all the networking events. I have learned to understand how she thinks. She uses her calculator to check prices and find the best deals. Her choices in which books she chooses shows it all. While these genres or types of books are often the ones I see her sitting down to read, sometimes she partakes in mystery. Problem solving is like second-nature to her.
Finding the bench in the cooking section, Monica is, yet again, reading a consumer psychology book. I am holding a James Baldwin book, debating on my purchase. The lights are hitting her silhouette like a perfect picture — legs crossed, head planted in the book, and eyes following each line. With each step towards her, my mind cannot decide to interrupt her thinking or to let her carry on while I make another round throughout the store. Ultimately, I sat down next to her and opened the book to start reading.
Here we are reading in McNally’s. It is a perfect day. Our stomachs full of delicious food to keep us fueled for the next day, the sky so clear, and us diving into our literature choices. Unbeknownst to us, three hours go by. Our ignorance to the time is blissful. We forget for a couple hours of the concerns that bother us back to reality. We travel into an alternate fictional reality that captures us for the day.
Only when the sun begins to set do we realize how we lost track of time. Monica is tapping my book, only enough to gain my attention and not enough to startle me. Our eyes met; I know our time has come. Closing our books, I inquire about her book.
“Is it any good? Are you gonna buy it?”
“Yeah, it’s about consumer psychology. It tells me a lot about what people think when they are purchasing things and how it reflects in the markets.”
Most of the time it is not as simple as this, but every time I learn something new from her about her interests. Sometimes I have no clue what she is talking about despite her dumbed down explanation. Never do I not learn something and connect with her in a new topic.
If you ever need a stroll, wander in a bookstore — your next venture awaits you. Most of all, take a friend because you will have something to connect about and learn more about. You can learn so much about a person by discussing the type of literature they read or don’t read.
By Alyssa Hong
Alyssa Hong is a rising Junior at Barnard College, studying Political Science with a minor in English. As a first-generation, low-income student, she writes about moving across the country for college and its adjustments. She utilizes entertainment, wellness/health/food, and fashion/beauty as methods to making new connections with others whilst always learning.
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