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Quick Facts
- I'm a current freshman at CMC studying possibly Econ + Data Science
- I've lived in Illinois, California, and Shanghai!
- I have a dog named Bowie
Photo
Here's an image of a cozy bookstore!
My ideal book nook is a quiet little pocket of the world where time loosens its grip鈥攁 corner tucked near a window, warmed by late-afternoon light and softened by sheer curtains that move with the breeze. A low, overstuffed chair sits there like it鈥檚 been waiting just for me, layered with mismatched pillows and a blanket that smells faintly of laundry soap and coffee. Books are stacked everywhere, not perfectly shelved, but lived-in鈥攕ome with dog-eared pages, others half-finished and face-down, as if pausing mid-thought. There鈥檚 a small side table just big enough for a mug of tea and a pencil for underlining sentences that feel like secrets. The space feels calm, a place where I can disappear into stories. Since I have yet to have this booknook, this is like a digital reimagining of what that space would look like.
Reading has always been special to me because it feels less like an activity and more like a place I can go when I need grounding, curiosity, or quiet company. It鈥檚 where I learned how to sit with my own thoughts, how to understand people whose lives look nothing like mine, and how to name feelings I didn鈥檛 yet have words for. Books let me slow down in a world that constantly asks me to move faster. They give me permission to pause, to wonder, to feel deeply without having to perform or explain myself. Whether I鈥檓 reading to escape, to learn, or simply to feel less alone, there鈥檚 something deeply comforting in the act itself: turning pages, rereading lines that resonate, and realizing that someone, somewhere, once felt the same way.
Some of my favorite bookstores are stitched together by memory as much as by geography, each one marking a different version of me. Shakespeare and Company in Paris feels almost mythic:creaky floors, handwritten notes, and the sense that if you linger long enough, you鈥檒l become part of a larger literary lineage. The Foreign Language Bookstore in Shanghai is quieter but just as meaningful to me, a refuge where languages and cultures overlap. Half Price Books in Bellevue Washington carries a different kind of joy: shelves packed with possibility, the thrill of finding a book you didn鈥檛 know you needed, already worn and loved by someone else. And then there are the little free libraries scattered across the country, unassuming boxes on street corners, full of trust and generosity鈥攁long with countless bookstores from memory whose names I鈥檝e forgotten but whose feeling I haven鈥檛.
Mini Table
| Location | What I loved | What I got |
|---|---|---|
| Foriegn Language Bookstore | The wonderful seating, great variety of east-asian literature | Cool manga, vintage magazines and HongKong records |
| Paris: Shakespeare&Co. | The history, the crowded books, the attatched cafe | A totebag I continue to use, typewritten poems |
| Washington Half Priced Books | The great prices, the rare books collection, interesting memorabilia | Beautiful limited edition of Love in the time of cholera |
| Bonus: Claremont! | The advocacy + collaboration with the prison reform project, great team, good location | Copies of my favorite book, signed copies, cute stickers |