Bookstore wanted!

When Borders closed in the outer rim of the Grand Central Mall, I didn't think I'd miss it much. After all I have a laptop, an iPhone and Internet access to the world, but that does not replace the relaxation of browsing through a bookstore, which my wife repeatedly has remind me until I finally opted to go with her to Books-A-Million in South Charleston last weekend.

Yes, yes , yes, I know -- as one of my cohorts in crime at the newspaper constantly tells me -- we can go online, browse books by the hundreds and order the ones we want, having them delivered to our door without the time and expense of driving to South Charleston or anywhere else to go to a real bookstore.

But, it's not the same!

There is something very neat about picking up a book, browsing through the pages, picking passages of interest and having an actual book in your hands, instead of a computer screen. There something special about placing a marker in that book, putting it down and then returning to your place later instead of doing it on a computer screen.

My daughter and her husband obviously are of a different generation, one that has fully adapted to the world of iPads , Kendles, Nooks, etc. They get all their books and music online without every venturing out their door.

While I have no problem buying music online, I cannot adapt --nor do I want to -- to buying books online.

So, that brings me back to my original plea ... Parkersburg needs a full-service bookstore to serve the Mid-Ohio Valley.