Going to get my youngest a hamster for her birthday. I went to the pet store to pick out a few items- thinking I’d give her a book on hamster care to open at the little party, and then we come choose the actual pet. I haven’t been to the pet store much in recent years- I remember there used to be at least half one side of an aisle with magazines and books on all kinds of pet care, dog training, etc. Nothing. I asked an “associate” where’s the books on pet care?
He handed me a small folded pamphlet from a rack. That’s all they had. “Nobody reads books anymore,” he said to me. “Google is your friend! Hand your kid a tablet or i-pad and look it up.”
I said nothing but inwardly I was rather appalled. I wanted to tell him I have over 1,600 books in my bedroom, my kids each have fifty to a hundred on their own shelves, and my husband well over another fifty in his office! We are a household with books- but I was afraid he’d think me a freak. And I thought of all you, my dear fellow book bloggers hanging on to this archaic habit of reading words on paper to absorb information and delight. It really made me feel old. Not only my clothes (never in style) and my hair (gray streaks), but even my hobby is not with the times.
4 Responses
My mother still reads a newspaper. I suspect those will vanish long before physical books. I always feel bad when she comes for a visit and we buy them, the LOOKS the checkout people give her…
While I love books, I’m not surprised the pet store doesn’t sell them anymore. No one wants to read anymore, sadly.
I don’t think I’ve even seen newspapers for sale in a store recently. At least, not the grocery store- though they still do have an aisle with popular books, and magazines at the checkout. Maybe the generic drugstore is where I’ve seen them. Haven’t read a newspaper myself in a very long time. I used to really enjoy all the weekly comic strips, but that was ages ago.
Hahahahah, that’s a hilarious story. You are not out of step with anything, I promise! More people are reading books now than used to, particularly among the younger generations. BOOOOOOOOOKS.
Also, congratulations on the new hamster! What’s its name?
Ah, so glad to hear it. Shhh, it’s a surprise and we don’t have the little critter yet. I’m only safe posting about this because I know my almost-ten-year-old doesn’t read my book blog!