Rediscovering the Joy of Reading at BookPeople

As this week’s artist date, I finally visited BookPeople, Austin’s independent bookstore. I first heard about it at last year’s Texas Book Festival, and it was worth the wait.

The store felt cozy and welcoming. I stopped by CoffeePeople, the café inside the store, and the person who took my order was super friendly and kind. With my coffee in hand, I read the first few chapters of Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, one of their Top 10 bestsellers. I also loved seeing The Artist’s Way on the list, a book that always reminds me of the power of creativity.

While wandering, I discovered their Banned Books corner. I was surprised to see The Catcher in the Rye there. I read it in high school when it was actually a recommended book. I don’t remember the content much, but I never noticed the profanity. Maybe it’s because Japanese doesn’t carry the same weight of profanity, or maybe because I read it in English and didn’t fully understand at the time. Learning why it was banned made me want to read it again in English with fresh eyes.

Another thing I really liked was discovering that BookPeople hosts many different book clubs. I’d love to join one someday, and realistically the virtual one might fit my schedule best.

I left feeling inspired and excited to dive into both new and old books again.

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