I haven't been since the integration of both store...

I haven't been since the integration of both stores, and I'm hoping everything is a little more fully set up when I return. I write that knowing that since it's a perfect example of my favorite kind of book store. Other examples include Dickson Street Bookshop in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the flagship location for Half-Price Books in Dallas, and another Eugene location -- the sadly now closed Blue Moon Books, a space and an owner I was so excited to find only to discover they were in their final days. There's a certain smell and feel to stores like these. It's as if you're walking into some special spot that only certain cool people are aware of, where you might be transported to any other time and place in the history of anything -- apologies for the cliches, but there really is something magical about Smith Family Bookstore. And as much as I love my fiction, the organization and selection on the second floor is incredible. Staff is great, too. And they love to read, so they can talk to anyone about anything. All the best people are readers, and this is one of the only places where I've only bumped into cool folks.