Backbeat Books: The Magical Scent of Book Pages

Are you a book lover? The fact you're here is a good start. I'm a bookseller with a challenge for you. Let's call it a game! That makes it more fun. Are you up for it? Okay, let's start...

Lean in. Go ahead and sniff your computer screen. Trust me here. It's missing a certain magic, isn't it? Now reach for your mouse and click on any big box bookstore website. You see pictures of book covers and lots of text, right? Yes, and lots of ads for things like dehumidifiers and blenders and jeans. Now listen for a moment. Just the familiar hum of electronic silence. That website can't discuss those books with you and bring them to life and place them in your hands. Now what about your e-reader over there? Pick it up and examine it. So disappointing. Where's the patina?

Now, here's where we get really interactive. You need to step away from your computer and have a real-life experience. Just try it. I promise you won't be disappointed! Bundle up, grab a coffee if it helps, and go outside and stand in front of your local bookstore. Wait! Before you step in, take a moment and peek through the window. Go on, you'll see in a minute...

Notice that glow? Gaze upon the rows of books. You can feel the serenity, the calm. You can practically feel the stories enticing you through that pane of glass. Okay, you've waited long enough. Turn the handle and enter the space. Go slowly. Take it all in. Feel the serenity hug you in as you pass over the threshold...

Now take your time as you wander through the aisles and seek out the book with the most appealing spine or cover. The one with the kind of paper you like the very best. The greatest books will always call out to you - but remember, they can't call out to you through a screen. Aren't you glad you came to the bookstore? Now cradle that book in your hands. Feel its weight. Inhale the magical scent of the pages. Look around. Enjoy the fact that you aren't being sucked down the internet wormhole when what you were really looking for is surrounding you right now. Exchange a smile with the fellow true book lovers who have been as lucky as you to have sought out this special place.

You feel much better now, don't you? Your breathing is steady. You have a smile on your face. You can't wait to sit down and delve right into your book. I promised you wouldn't be disappointed.

If you can’t wait to get home and the moment is just right, the shopkeeper might make a pot of tea and invite you to sit down on the couch so you can sink into your novel right then and there. We are fellow book lovers. We understand. You won't be hurried. And when you're ready to go, we will look you in the eye and thank you. We will remember you and be delighted to discuss that book with you the next time you come back. We will specifically keep you in mind when we're buying books for the shop and we'll ask you for your input. Because you matter. Because we care.

If you want to have the ultimate booklover experience, make sure to visit your local independent bookshop on April 30th. Not only will you get to be in the happiest of places, you will have the writers of these fabulous stories standing right before you recommending books that you will be sure to love. These creative spinners of tales will be reading, selling and speaking with you about our shared passion: books. If you're really nice, they'll probably sign them for you as well, sending you on your way with an extra special treasure in your hands.

This is not an experience you can duplicate online. It's a unique, real-life experience you will remember for a long time to come. And you won't wake up the next morning with the regret of an impulsively bought blender.

Christine and Dan Chu
Backbeat Books & Music
6 Wilson Street
West
Perth, Ontario
K7H 2M5
613.466.0663 or 866.873.1507