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I went to the bookstore to buy a book for a friend today. I had to weave through people, ask employees to look for a copy of the book in the back room, and then wait in line. I’m used to wandering into the store on Sunday, lazily combing through the aisles and then easing up to counter and out the door without having to say “excuse me” once. I go to the bookstore almost every weekend. Usually I like the peace and quite of the bookstore, but today’s buzz and borderline chaos were unexpectedly pleasant. The combination of the holiday shopping season and the closing of Borders earlier this year created what was my most hectic bookstore experience in a long time.

I’ve read countless articles this year about the predicted extinction of books, but also of the book world going full circle from small bookshops, to retail, back to small. I read the articles and compared them to my own experiences with the closing of the Borders in the city and the two near my parents’ house in the suburbs, realizing that the book world was certainly changing whether I liked it or not. I’ve felt a shared sadness with other book lovers over the past year, searching for a way to keep the love of literature alive so that books can be available to younger generations. I’ve felt a different kind of sadness as e-Books have taken storm and the Nook and Kindle became more prevalent around me on my morning commute to work. Today was the first day I didn’t feel any of that sadness when I was in the bookstore.

What I realized today is that books are still among the most popular gifts. Books appeal to a variety of people in ways that few other objects can- they’re living, breathing pieces that readers ingest and interpret in their own way. Books are durable in material and wisdom, traits that few toys or sweaters can boast. It made me so overwhelmingly joyous to watch shoppers select books for others based on preference, popularity, or mere chance. Though the future of books is certainly still daunting for me, today’s experience in the bookstore set my mind at ease. When the cashier asked me if I needed a gift receipt for my book, I told her absolutely not for I was sure that I had made the right choice.